Vinča Nuclear Institute
The Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences is a nuclear physics research institution near Belgrade, Serbia.[1] Since its founding, the institute has also conducted research in the fields in physics, chemistry and biology. The scholarly institute is part of the University of Belgrade.[2]
History
The institute was established in 1948 as the Institute for Physics. Several different research groups started in the 1950s, and two research reactors were built.[3]
The institute operates two research reactors; RA[4] and RB.[5] The research reactors were supplied by the USSR. The larger of the two reactors was rated at 6.5 MW and used Soviet-supplied 80% enriched uranium fuel.[6]
On October 15, 1958, there was a criticality accident at one of the research reactors. Six workers received large doses of radiation; one died shortly afterwards.[7] The other five received the first ever bone marrow transplants in Europe.[8][9]
The nuclear research programme ended in 1968, while the reactors were switched off in 1984.
Removal of radioactive waste
In 2009, it was reported that the nuclear fuel storage pool, containing large quantities of radioactive waste, was in poor condition.[10]
In 2010, 2.5 tonnes of waste, including 13 kg of 80% enriched uranium, were transported from Vinča to a reprocessing facility at Mayak, Russia.[11] This was the IAEA's largest ever technical cooperation project, and thousands of police protected the convoys.[12][13]
Removal of the nuclear waste allows decommissioning of Vinča's remaining reactor to be completed.[14]
References
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- ↑ Vinca reactor accident, 1958, compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston
- ↑ Nuove esplosioni a Fukushima: danni al nocciolo. Ue: “In Giappone l’apocalisse”, 14 marzo 2011
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