Fast Flux Test Facility

F1

Aerial view of the Fast Flux Test Facility

The Fast Flux Test Facility ( FFTF abbreviation ) is located on the Hanford Site in Benton County in the state of Washington in the United States.

The reactor

It is a liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactor with a thermal output of 400 MWth.Die FFTF was the world's largest test reactor of its type, the fuel elements were surrounded by stainless steel type 316.

The reactor is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy ( DOE). Currently, the FFTF is in the phase of deactivation ( shutdown or transition).

Purpose and use

The plant was used as a neutron source. The reactor was a prototype for the U.S. breeder reactor program. It was intended primarily for the testing of fuels and materials for the advanced reactor program of the United States. During the 10 years of successful operation, the FFTF led a variety of research and testing programs on the nuclear fuels, materials and systems of nuclear plants through. Some of these experiments were for other countries, including Japan and Canada, performed. The FFTF also produced medical isotopes for cancer treatment, including gadolinium -153 and cobalt - 60th It has also produced highly enriched uranium and tritium.

The reactor was also a material test reactor (MTR ). It irradiation tests were conducted.

History

The plans for the FFTF began in 1965, during the heyday of the experiments with nuclear energy in the United States. Four years later, the design was completed. 1970 Westinghouse was selected to build the plant and operate. Construction was completed in 1980 and the operation of the plant began in late summer 1982. In the complex several hundred people were employed.

The reactor was first time in 1980 critical and was briefly threatened by the shutdown until the U.S. government recognized a great advantage in the operation of the plant. The reactor was shut down in 1992.

Until 2002, the reactor was in "hot standby " status, which cost 31 million U.S. dollars per year. But then began the dismantling of the FFTF, since the administration of George W. Bush had no use for the research reactor.