Pime 2010

14 - 17 February 2010, Budapest, Hungary

POST CONFERENCE TECHNICAL VISIT

PIME delegates can choose between the two following technical tours:

Wednesday February 17, 2010

The Budapest Research Reactor at the Central Research Institute of Physics

The Budapest Research Reactor (BRR) is a tank-type reactor, moderated and cooled by light water. The reactor, which went critical in 1959, is of Soviet origin. A full-scale reactor reconstruction and upgrading project began in 1986, following 27 years of operation since initial criticality. The upgraded 10 MW reactor received the operation license in November 1993.
The BRR is used for irradiation and neutron research as well. Irradiations are performed in vertical channels, while experiments are made at the horizontal neutron beam ports. The reactor has more than 60 vertical channels, including six flux traps, that can be used for isotope production, material testing. In one of these channels a pneumatic rabbit system is working, serving for neutron activation analysis.

The Training Reactor of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics

The training reactor of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics is a swimming pool type reactor located at the university campus. The reactor with a maximum power of 100 kW mainly supports education in nuclear engineering and physics; however, extensive research work is carried out as well.

Wednesday February 17, 2010

The National Radioactive Waste Repository

In 2005, after a decade spent with site selection and siting, the preparation of two inclined shafts was started in Bátaapáti (Tolna County, Hungary) in order to facilitate the underground research for a LILW repository and provide access to future disposal chambers. After completing the safety assessment, the licensing documentation was handed over to the competent authority in 2007. The construction licence for the surface parts (technology and central buildings) and also for the future underground disposal chambers was issued in 2008.  The surface parts of the National Radioactive Waste Repository became ready in September 2008 and the authority issued the operation licence for the central and the technology buildings. With this first phase operation licence it became possible to transport waste from the Paks NPP to the new technology building for buffer (predisposal) storage. The first packages (200l drums with solid LILW) arrived at the end of 2008. At present, tunnelling activities are in progress aiming at the construction of the underground disposal chambers. By 2011, after completing the second phase in the operation licensing procedure, two disposal chambers are planned to be put into operation. Later further chambers will be necessary to dispose of the total (approximately 40000 m3) LILW waste arising from the 30 year operation of the NPP and its future decommissioning.

Wednesday February 17, 2010

Paks Nuclear Power Plant

In the XX. century, the Paks Nuclear Power Plant was the biggest industrial innovation of Hungary. After the upgrading of all four units, the nominal power of the NPP reached 2,000 MW. With this, Paks NPP has a leading role in Hungarian energetics: it takes part of cca. 40 % in national electricity production. In 2009, the four units produced 15,427 GWh electric energy.

Delegates will visit the Visitors Centre, followed by a visit of the turbine hall, the control room and the reactor hall of Unit 4.

09:00 - 10:30 Transfer to Paks

10:30 - 12:00 Visit of the Visitors Centre

12:00 -13:20 Visit of turbine hall, control room and reactor hall

13:20 - 14:30 Lunch

14:30 - 16:30 Transfer to Budapest

Registration

The three technical tours are included in the registration fee.
The maximum size of each group is limited and participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please fill in the appropriate section of the registration form and the required information for the security check.