Power Burst Facility

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The PBF, built in the 1970s, supported Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission studies of reactor fuel during normal and off-normal operating conditions. The PBF operated as a one-of-a-kind facility, with the ability to subject fuel samples to extraordinary power surges in milliseconds, causing the fuel to fail in an isolated, contained system. Information was then used to develop safe operating limits for the commercial nuclear industry. In 1998, the PBF was placed in shutdown status and subsequently defueled. The PBF reactor was installed in a three-story, 19,000-square-foot facility. The reactor vessel contains cesium, strontium, and cobalt-all highly radioactive elements. There are two highly contaminated cubicles, 10 and 13, on the first basement level of the facility.