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Four light bulbs illustrate EBR-1's first success
at generating usable electric power |
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Historic photo showing an operator moving uranium-238
bricks below the reactor core |
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Superstructure surrounding one of the nuclear-powered
aircraft angines built before the program was
scrapped in 1961 |
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[Continued from Page 1]
EBR-1 was a breeder because it created ("bred")
more uranium atoms than it consumed. It was the first
facility to produce both new plutonium-235 and generate sufficient
electricity to operate itself. It started producing electricity
on December 20, 1951, and was operational whenever the reactor
was engaged until it was decommissioned in 1964.
There were plenty of "firsts" developed
at this facility. One of these was the use of NaK (pronounced
"nack"). Nuclear reactors have a serious problem
with controlling the heat that arises from a nuclear reaction.
The cooling system developed here used a combination of sodium
(Na) and potassium ( K). NaK was chosen because it stays liquid
at a large range of temperatures, and it was very efficient
at transferring heat away from the reactor. However, NaK burns
and explodes when exposed to water and air. There are still
lots of signs around the reactor museum warning about the
dangers of exposing NaK to water. In addition, NaK corrodes
metal, which meant the designers had to design an electromagnetic
pump with no internal moving parts to keep the NaK moving.
One of the amazing things about the EBR-1
tour is that you can stand directly above the reactor core.
There is a plastic viewing port in the floor that allows you
to see the top of the stainless steel tank the comprised the
core. But the most amazing and downright unnerving experience
is that you can walk directly into the "reflector repair
room." This shielded room was where the various components
of the radioactive fuel were inspected and manipulated. In
particular, the operator would remove and replace the uranium-238
bricks that surrounded the reactor core. The windows and walls
were 39 inches thick and remote manipulators were developed
to move the materials. During my visit, I tried several of
the manipulators, and it was amazing how much dexterity they
provided.
In the early 1950s, the US government began
a project to build a nuclear-powered jet bomber. In July,
1959, the largest arched concrete hangar in the world to date
was built to house this futuristic aircraft. Two of the engines
that were built and tested for this project are in the parking
lot of the EBR-1. Although the two structures surrounding
the test engines are huge, the actual engines, including their
reactors, are only about ten feet long. The superstructure
that surrounds each of the test engines was built to keep
the engines from blasting off into the desert and to hold
the scientific testing instruments. The program was eventually
cancelled by President Kennedy in March, 1961, and no aircraft
was ever built, but the engineers at this facility proved
that such a jet propulsion system was possible. It may even
viable some day in the future.
For more information online,
visit these sites:
Atomic
Heritage Foundation
INEEL(Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory)
Nuclear
Reactors at INEEL
Major
Research Topics Currently Being Studied at INEEL
Idaho
Nuclear Waste Clean-up Project
