Other Names: IR-0001
Location: Tehran Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: AEOI
Size: 5MW
Primary Function: Research and development, isotope production

Description:

TRR is a 5MWt pool-type light water research reactor. The United States supplied TRR to Iran in 1967. It is housed at the Tehran Nuclear Research Center (TNRC). It is capable of producing up to 600 grams of plutonium annually. In 1987, the AEOI paid Argentina's Applied Research Institute (INVAP) $5.5 million to convert the reactor's fuel from 93 percent enriched uranium to 20 percent enriched uranium. The Argentine Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEA) has subsequently supplied the reactor with 115.8kg of safeguarded 20 percent enriched uranium fuel.

In the 1990s, TRR was used to irradiate UO2 targets for subsequent separation of I-131 at the MIX facility. The facility remains in operation.

Key Sources:
[1]"Research Reactors," Nuclear Review; Schwarzbach, "Iran's Nuclear Program: Energy or Weapons?" pp. 5-6, 52.
[2] "Iran's Nuclear Ambitions," Jane's Intelligence Review: Special Report, No. 6, 1 June 1995.
[3] "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 6 June 2003, p. 6.

	Updated January 2006