Reactor Technology Complex

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Part of the Idaho National Laboratory site, contains the Advanced Test Reactor.

For more than 50 years, the Idaho National Laboratory has played a key role in nuclear energy research programs for the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The site's contributions helped establish the technical basis for regulating the domestic and international nuclear energy community.

The RTC, formerly Test Reactor Area, serves as a focal point in delivering the laboratory's energy research mission. Since the early 1950s, three major test reactors have operated at the RTC: the Materials Test Reactor (1952-1970), the Engineering Test Reactor (1957-1982), and the Advanced Test Reactor (1967-present).

The Materials Test Reactor (MTR) was the second reactor to be operated at the INL site. (Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1, now a Registered National Historic Landmark, was the first operating reactor at the INL site.) Information obtained from tests run at the MTR influenced the choice of core structural materials and fuel elements for every reactor designed in the United States since 1952.

The Engineering Test Reactor (ETR) provided more testing space and flexibility than the MTR. At the time of startup, the ETR was the largest and most advanced materials test reactor in the world. The reactor was used to evaluate fuels, coolant and moderator characteristics under environments similar to those in many types of power reactors. In 1972, the ETR was modified to support the Department of Energy's breeder reactor safety program.

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), also used to study the effects of radiation on materials, continues to support INL's energy research mission. The reactor also produces rare and valuable medical and industrial isotopes.

The ETR and MTR reactors have been deactivated and are slated for demolition as part of the site's 2012 cleanup. Although both reactors have been defueled, they contain a significant amount of highly radioactive cobalt, strontium, and cesium. The ETR has an estimated 3,000 curies of cobalt-60 inside. ETR also contains tritium and low-concentration transuranic isotope contamination, and both reactors contain lead and graphite. Together, ETR and MTR contain more than 7,000 curies of irradiated beryllium. Each reactor also has highly contaminated cubicles. Cubicles in both facilities contained more than one million pounds of lead and vast asbestos-lined piping runs. The ETR reactor vessel was installed in a single piece. Plans call for grouting the internals, lifting and removing the vessel whole, and disposing it at an onsite repository. The MTR vessel is a tank-type reactor that was installed in five sections. Special handling tools, remote tools, and shielding devices may be used to disassemble the MTR. Internal components will be transferred to a shielded waste container and disposed. Careful isolation of the ATR utilities in the MTR basement will ensure continuity of ATR operations.