U.S. Department of Commerce announced the National Institute of Standards and Technology will restart its research reactor.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission authorized the restart of the reactor at NIST's Center for Neutron Research in Gaithersburg, Md., according to a March 10 news release. The reactor was shut down in February 2021 after a single fuel element was damaged when it overheated because it was not securely latched into place.
"We are extremely pleased to have reached this milestone and to begin our return to normal operations," Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio said in the news release. "We are committed to ensuring the safe operation of this vital national resource so that it can once again support important advances in medicine, material science, technology and more."
The reactor, important in a broad range of research, operates at far lower power, temperature and pressure conditions than other utility reactors that generate electricity, according to the news release. An extensive review by NRC following the incident more than two years ago found "the public was safe at all times during the event."
NIST Center's Reactor Safety Evaluation Committee plans to perform a final review to ensure all restart conditions are satisfied before low-power testing begins, the release reported. The reactor is expected to resume full operational status after several weeks of testing, and NCNR will update the research community on its progress toward resuming scientific operations.
"Over the past two years, NIST has reviewed and updated its training, operations, procedures, communications and attitudes toward safety," Locascio said in the release. "The NRC confirmed there were no impacts on the reactor's structures, systems and components that would preclude restart. The commission also evaluated NIST's revised procedures and practices to ensure that they 'provide reasonable assurance that the reactor will be operated consistent with its license and the NRC’s regulations.'"
