IAEA notes upgrades to Turkish research reactor

The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) has moved a step closer to the restart of its TR-2 research reactor, which was shut down in 2009 and converted to use low-enriched uranium fuel. A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) carried out an Integrated Safety Assessment of Research Reactors (INSARR) follow-up mission between 25 and 28 April, which concluded that several safety improvements to TR-2 have been implemented, including facility modifications to strengthen protection against seismic hazards, upgrades to the reactor operational safety systems and improvements to safety documentation.

William Kennedy, nuclear safety officer at the IAEA and head of the review team said: "The IAEA team noted that additional efforts are needed to strengthen the functions of the reactor safety committee, improve the procedure for safety classification of experiments and to formally establish an ageing management program, including preventive maintenance activities and periodic safety reviews, to support continued safe operation of the reactor."

In its assessment, the IAEA peer review team noted the implementation of the recommendations from the 2015 INSARR review on reactor safety analysis, management system, training and qualification of personnel, commissioning of the reactor with the new fuel and seismic safety, Kennedy said.

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Source: World Nuclear News