Russia
A.P. Aleksandrov Scientific Research Technological Institute (NITI)
This page is part of the Facilities Collection.
Established in 1962, the A.P. Aleksandrov Scientific Research Technological Institute’s (NITI) mission was to develop and support naval nuclear propulsion systems. NITI, originally a subsidiary of the Kurchatov Institute, has worked independently since 1979. The Northwestern research and development center of nuclear energy was created at NITI in 1992. 1 Today, NITI is involved in designing, testing, and supporting nuclear power and naval propulsion reactors as well as their systems and parts. The Institute has two naval reactor prototypes and training facilities, the KV-1 and KV-2, both fueled with highly-enriched uranium (HEU). 2
NITI also develops and produces simulators and modeling systems for training reactor operators, automatic control systems for industrial applications, automatic radiation monitoring systems, and spent fuel-handling technology. 3
Glossary
- Highly enriched uranium (HEU)
- Highly enriched uranium (HEU): Refers to uranium with a concentration of more than 20% of the isotope U-235. Achieved via the process of enrichment. See entry for enriched uranium.
- Spent nuclear fuel
- Spent nuclear fuel: Irradiated nuclear fuel. Once irradiated, nuclear fuel is highly radioactive and extremely physically hot, necessitating special remote handling. Fuel is considered “self protecting” if it is sufficiently radioactive that those who might seek to divert it would not be able to handle it directly without suffering acute radiation exposure.
Sources
- “Istoriia” History, Ofitsial’nyi sait Nauchno-issledovatel’skii tekhnologicheskii institut im. A.P. Aleksandrova, Official site of A.P. Aleksandrov Scientific Research Technological Institute, www.niti.ru.
- "Research reactors: Russia," International Panel on Fissile Materials, www.fissilematerials.org.
- “Napravleniia deiatel’nosti,” Directions of activity, Ofitsial’nyi sait Nauchno-issledovatel’skii tekhnologicheskii institut im. A.P. Aleksandrova, Official site of A.P. Aleksandrov Scientific Research Technological Institute, www.niti.ru.