OPAL

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OPAL redirects here. For the detector / experiment at the CERN LEP particle accelerator, see OPAL (CERN).
For other OPAL articles, see Opal (disambiguation).

OPAL (Open Pool Australian Lightwater reactor) is a 20 megawatt pool-type nuclear research reactor currently in the late stage of being commissioned (as of Dec 2006) at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Research Establishment at Lucas Heights in south Sydney, Australia.

The Argentine company INVAP S.E. was the main contractor responsible for the delivery of the reactor, performing the design, construction and commissioning.

OPAL is due to be fully operational in 2007, when it will replace the HIFAR reactor. ANSTO received an operating license from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) in July 2006, allowing commencement of hot commissioning, where fuel is first added to the reactor. OPAL went critical for the first time on 13 August 2006 and reached full power on November 3rd 2006.

The reactor core is located 10 metres under water in an open pool of light water (normal H₂O) for cooling. It uses ‘heavy water’ (D₂O) to moderate the neutrons produced in the 16 fuel assemblies.

OPAL is expected to become the centrepiece of the facilities at ANSTO, providing more efficient and rapid radiopharmaceutical and radioisotope production, irradiation services and neutron beam research, outperforming the current ANSTO reactor in every aspect. OPAL will be able to produce four times as many radioisotopes for nuclear medicine treatments, and a wider array of radioisotopes for the treatment of disease. The design includes a cold neutron source (CNS) allowing research not possible at the existing facility.