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Research Reactors
Australia currently has 3 research reactors located at the Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre in Sydney. The only reactor in operation is the OPAL reactor. The other two – the HIFAR and MOATA reactors - are in various stages of shutdown in preparation for final decommissioning.
OPAL (Open Pool Australian Lightwater) is a 20 Megawatt water cooled research reactor authorised to operate under a facility licence issued by ARPANSA in July 2006. Further information can be found on our OPAL reactor web page.
HIFAR is a 10 Megawatt research reactor that commenced operation in 1958. It was officially shutdown on 30 January 2007 with the spent fuel and heavy water since being removed and stored on site. A facility licence to possess or control HIFAR was issued by ARPANSA in September 2008. This is the first step in the regulatory process leading to the eventual decommissioning of the reactor.
Further information can be found on our HIFAR reactor web page.
MOATA was a 100 kilowatt research reactor that operated for 34 years from 1961 to 1995. A facility licence to possess, control and decommission MOATA was issued by ARPANSA in May 2001. Preliminary dismantling was completed in July 2009. Approval to dismantle the biological shield was granted in January 2010. This work was completed and an application to surrender the facility licence was made by ANSTO at the end of November 2010. ARPANSA conducted a final inspection of the building on 12 April 2011 and approved the surrender of the licence in May 2011.
The facility licence was surrendered in June 2011 and MOATA is no longer under regulatory control. Further information about the MOATA reactor may be found on the _ANSTO website.
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