Associated Press
A Sandia National Laboratories pulsed reactor is being moved to Nevada as part of the National Nuclear Security Administration's plan to consolidate locations that have special nuclear material.
The reactor was designed to provide intense neutron bursts to test the effects of radiation on materials and electronics. Three separate reactors, known as SPR I, SPR II and SPR III, operated consecutively from 1961 until about 2000. SPR III was brought back online in 2005 for more experiments and operated through September 2006.
SPR III is being sent to the Nevada Test Site, where it will be stored. Materials from SPR II will be sent to Los Alamos National Laboratory and to Savannah River for processing and disposition. SPR I was decommissioned decades ago.
Sandia said removing the SPR work helps reduce the number of locations that require expensive security measures because of category 1 and 2 special nuclear material.
The NNSA has called upon Sandia to remove its category 1 and 2 material by the end of 2008 as part of the agency's overall consolidation program. Category 1 and 2 materials, such as those required to operate SPR, require expensive measures to store, secure and work with.
Darren Talley, Sandia's manager of nuclear reactor facilities, said it was sad to see the SPR go.
"It's a unique capability,'' he said. "Everyone is feeling it.''
The SPR staff has seen more than 13,000 operations, Sandia said.
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