Location: Tokchin-dong, Yusong-ku, Taejon, South Korea

Address: P.O. Box 105, Tokchin-dong, Yusong-ku, Taejon, 305-600, South Korea

Telephone Number: +82-42-868-8120 Fax: +82-42-868-8448

Subordinate to: Center for Applications of Radioisotopes and Radiation, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Ministry of Science and Technology

Size: 30MW(th)

Primary Function: Multi-purpose reactor for research on neutron physics, irradiation of nuclear materials and fuels, and production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial use.

Description: In the early 1980s, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) conducted a feasibility study on the development of a multi-purpose research reactor to support South Korea’s nuclear energy development program. The goals of the study were assess the possibility of developing a research reactor that could be used for fuel and material tests to support the manufacturing of fuel and reactor components for pressurized light water reactors (PWR) and CANDU power plants, the production of radioisotopes, neutron activation analysis of nuclear materials, and neutron radiography for the examination of spent fuel assemblies and non-destructive examinations of both nuclear and non-nuclear materials. In 1985, the South Korea government approved a plan to develop a research reactor, and in 1987 the project was licensed by the Atomic Energy Commission. Construction began in March 1989, and the reactor was named the Korea Multi-Purpose Research Reactor (KMRR). In 1994 the reactor’s name was changed to High Flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO). HANARO reached initial criticality in February 1995 and began normal operations in January 1996.

HANARO’s reactor system and facility were jointly designed and developed by KAERI and Atomic Energy of Canada, Limited (AECL). The basic design of HANARO is based on AECL’s Multipurpose Applied Physics Lattice Experiment (MAPLE), which uses light water as a coolant and heavy water in the reactor core, and it operates at a capacity of 5-40MW(th). The HANARO reactor has an open tank in-pool for easy access, and the core uses a combination of light water cooled and moderated inner core, and a light and heavy water moderated outer core. The inner core has 28 fuel sites and three test sites. HANARO uses low enriched uranium (19.75 percent) for fuel and has an operational cycle of 28 days.

HANARO is designed to be operational at 30MW(th), but due to regulatory restrictions it has been operating at 26MW(th). Irradiation and beam experiment facilities are located in the same facility as the HANARO reactor. Near the HANARO reactor are the Radioisotope and Radiopharmaceutical Production Facilities which currently hold 21 hot cells. There is also a facility for HANARO’s waste management and other auxiliary facilities. HANARO is currently being used for neutron beam applications, fuel and material irradiation, nuclear fuel testing, neutron activation analysis, radioisotope production, neutron transmutation doping, and the development of nuclear materials. In early 2001, the South Korean government announced plans for KAERI to process and supply nuclear fuel for the HANARO reactor starting in 2003. This includes 45 bundles of fuel rods for HANARO and 420kg of mixed powder used in making fuel rods for exports.

Key sources: High-Flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO), <http://hanaro.kaeri.re.kr>; The Canadian Nuclear FAQ, “Research Reactors,” <http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionH.htm>; Bryan White, “Scientist Provides History of Maple Reactors,” Canadian Nuclear Society, <http://www.cns-snc.ca/branches/crb/past_speak/a_lee.htm>; Yonhap News Agency, 8 March 2001, in “S Korea to Produce R&D Nuclear Reactor Fuel Rods,” Asia Pulse, 9 March 2001, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>; “South Korea,” Nucleonics Week, 23 February 1995, p. 14, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

	Updated October 2004