Constructed in the early 1990s, the Der Al-Hadjar Nuclear Research Center houses Syria's only research reactor, the Chinese-supplied Miniature Neutron Source Reactor.[3] The bulk of Syria's nuclear-related work takes place at the Center.[4] Research includes nuclear physics and chemistry; use of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine, agriculture, biology, and geology; exploration of radioactive ores; management and procedures for the use of radioactive resources; protection from radiation; and the effects of radiation on humans and the environment.[5] The facility is subject to IAEA inspections under Syria's safeguards agreement with the IAEA.[6]

Sources:
[1] CIA, "Syria: Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions, 1 January through 30 June 2002," April 2003, www.cia.gov.
[2] Anthony H. Cordesman, "Syrian weapons of mass destruction," Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2 June 2008, p. 16, www.csis.org.
[3] A. George, "Syria Takes Delivery of Its Chinese Reactor," Nuclear Engineering International 12/93, 1 December 1993, pp. 46-47.
[4] M.E. Eads, International Research Centers Directory, 11 ed., 1999, p. 326.
[5] Robin Hughes, "Country Briefing: Syria - Syria's Dilemma," Jane's Defense Weekly, 7 September 2005, www.janes.com.
[6] Nuclear Programmes in the Middle East: In the shadow of Iran, ed. Mark Fitzpatrick (London: The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2008), p. 78.