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grant for dismantling the research reactor. The
Council of State of Finland granted a decommissioning license (required by Finnish nuclear law) in June 2021. After the reactor and related components were dismantled, the reactor building is decontaminated and, after thorough checks and measurements to ensure that the building is safe radiation-wise, the building will be released to use for other purposes. Before the dismantling work of the reactor started, the reactor building was not contaminated and its radiation level was the same as the background radiation level. Many Finnish buildings are exposed to much higher levels of radiation than the reactor building, due to natural sources such as the bedrock (especially radon gas) or building materials (e.g. granite). There was no
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262:(BNCT) facility was constructed next to the reactor in the 1990s. Over 300 cancer patient irradiations were given in 1999–2011. The patients showed improved tumor control and survival. The company that organized the therapy, Boneca Ltd., went bankrupt in January 2012. Then VTT decided to shut down the reactor because its operation cost about 500,000 euros per year. The reactor was permanently shut down in 2015 by removing several fuel rods from the core.
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waste, mainly concrete. Because the reactor was small, the amount of waste generated was also small, especially when compared to the amount of waste from decommissioning of a full-size nuclear power plant. The dismantling waste was transported to the low- and intermediate-level waste final repository in
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is physically impossible. The strong feedback could be utilized for generating power pulses. A control rod was ejected from the core with pressurized air, raising the reactor power thousand-fold, to 250 megawatts. This caused an increase of the fuel temperature, and the negative feedback stopped the
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was the main contractor in the dismantling of the reactor, which began in June 2023 and was finished in April 2024. The total cost of the decommissioning was about 24 million euros. The dismantling of the reactor generated about 60 cubic metres (2,100 cu ft) of low- and intermediate-level
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The first step in the dismantling project was removing the fuel from the reactor. Then other radioactive parts (internal parts of the core, the reactor pool, the concrete biological shield, BNCT facility, and the primary cooling circuit) were dismantled. The spent fuel and most parts of the reactor
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There were a total of 103 spent fuel rods in the reactor building. They contained 21.4 kilograms (47 lb) of uranium in total. The reactor used very little fuel because its power was so low and it operated only a few hours a day. Some of the fuel rods were in the reactor for its entire 53 year
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FiR 1 was
Finland’s first nuclear facility to be dismantled. The lessons-learned from the research reactor dismantling project will be used for preparation of the decommissioning of Finnish nuclear power plants. In 2018, the Finnish government decided to give VTT a 13.5 million euros special
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above, below, and around the reactor core. The reflector scattered back into the core some of the neutrons that escaped from the core. The reactor pool was surrounded by a concrete biological shield, which acted as a radiation protection in the horizontal direction. The reactor had four
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of nuclear materials. Finland’s
Nuclear Energy Act prohibits export of nuclear waste. However, the law has an exception, according to which the prohibition does not apply to waste from a research reactor. In February 2021, the fuel of the reactor was transported to
322:. and placed in Finnish bedrock. The decommissioning waste was packaged into concrete boxes for final disposal; since the decommissioning waste does not contain long-lived radioactive isotopes, the packages are designed to last only at least 500 years.
129:. The original thermal power of the reactor was 100 kilowatts. In 1967 the reactor was uprated to 250 kilowatts. The heat was not utilized for anything because the reactor was operated only a few hours a day.
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core are high-level waste. Other radioactive dismantling waste is classified as low- and intermediate-level waste. The goal was to limit the collective radiation dose to the dismantling staff to 10
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The FiR 1 fuel originated from the United States, and it belonged to the U.S. Foreign
Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Acceptance program. The program is intended to prevent
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fusion reactor have been irradiated with FiR 1. University students have performed exercises with the reactor. After the year 2000, the most significant use of the reactor was
136:, and radiation protection. The diameter of the core was 44 centimetres (17 in) and height 36 centimetres (14 in). There was about 15 kilograms (33 lb) of
469:"The 250 kW FiR 1 TRIGA Research Reactor - International Role in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) and Regional Role in Isotope Production, Education and Training"
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Mark II reactor had a thermal power of 250 kilowatts. It started operation in 1962, and it was permanently shut down in 2015. At first, the reactor was operated by
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power was so low. In addition to the spent fuel, 24 unused fuel rods were stored in the building. They contained 5.7 kilograms (13 lb) of uranium in total.
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The reactor core was at the bottom of about 6-metre (20 ft) deep water pool that was open from the top. The water acted as a coolant,
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FiR 1 started operation in 1962. In 1967 its power was uprated from 100 to 250 kilowatts. At first, the reactor was operated by
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A contract for buying the research reactor was signed in 1960. The most active people behind the acquisition were
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were analyzed with FiR 1. Radiation damage to equipment has been investigated with the reactor. For example,
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will use the fuel for several years in its reactor. Then the United States will take care of the spent fuel in
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Airila, Markus; Auterinen, Iiro; Kotiluoto, Petri; Vanttola, Timo; Vilkamo, Olli (2015-12-22).
444:(Environmental impact assessment) (in Finnish). VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. 2014
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International
Conference on Research Reactors: Safe Management and Effective Utilization
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283:. The reactor building was cleaned so that there are no limitations to its future use.
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A feature of the fuel material, uranium zirconium hydride, is a strong negative
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In addition to research, the reactor was used for production of radioactive
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between the temperature and the reactivity. As a result, an uncontrolled
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at the site of the reactor before dismatling and demolition work began.
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505:"Decommissioning of VTT's FiR 1 research reactor. Licence application"
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529:"Used fuel from VTT's research reactor set for further use in USA"
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236:. The research reactor project was preparation for constructing a
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operating time. The spent fuel did not need cooling because its
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of geological and biological materials. Lunar soil samples from
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247:. In 1971 the Finnish government transferred the reactor to
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chain reaction. A power pulse lasted only 30 milliseconds.
580:"Finland's Oldest Nuclear Reactor Decommissioned in Espoo"
604:(in Finnish). Ministry of Finance. 2018-04-13. p. 32
147:(UZrH), which contained 8–12 % of uranium. The fuel
510:. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. 2017-06-20
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The reactor had 79 fuel rods. The fuel material was
602:"Julkisen talouden suunnitelma vuosille 2019–2022"
89:for industrial measurements. It was used also for
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251:. The reactor building and the land are owned by
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353:. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. 2019
125:Mark II reactor, manufactured by the US company
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378:"The glow of Finland's first reactor fades"
556:"Decommissioning of FiR 1 nuclear reactor"
351:"Decommissioning of FiR 1 nuclear reactor"
467:Auterinen, I; Salmenhaara, S.E.J (2008).
442:"FiR 1 -tutkimusreaktorin käytöstäpoisto"
249:VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
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406:"Ydinreaktorin säteilevät hautajaiset"
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238:nuclear power plant in Finland
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260:boron neutron capture therapy
107:boron neutron capture therapy
21:Boron neutron capture therapy
91:neutron activation analysis
66:campus area in the city of
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255:Campus & Real Estate.
113:in the head or neck area.
661:Nuclear research reactors
637:60.1877000°N 24.8309472°E
309:Idaho National Laboratory
274:Reactor building of FiR 1
145:uranium zirconium hydride
78:(TKK), and since 1971 by
36:Otaniemi research reactor
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62:that was located in the
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205:Pekka Jauho
153:uranium-235
151:was 20% of
58:. It was a
48:VTT reactor
44:TKK reactor
655:Categories
608:2019-03-17
562:2021-11-03
514:2019-03-17
481:2019-03-17
448:2019-03-17
418:2019-03-17
387:2019-03-17
357:2019-03-17
334:References
289:decay heat
195:President
149:enrichment
117:Technology
160:reflector
95:Apollo 12
52:Finland's
176:feedback
167:made of
157:graphite
101:for the
87:isotopes
64:Otaniemi
586:18 June
320:Loviisa
187:History
138:uranium
315:Fortum
301:Denver
225:, and
111:cancer
70:. The
54:first
50:) was
508:(PDF)
472:(PDF)
234:]
223:]
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123:TRIGA
72:TRIGA
68:Espoo
28:FiR 1
588:2024
537:2021
103:ITER
411:Yle
46:or
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571:^
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258:A
232:fi
221:fi
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
