UNIVERSITY PARK – Repairs to the pool at Penn State’s Breazeale Reactor were completed last week and the reactor returned to operation on Nov. 24.
Resurfacing of the pool and repairs to the divider wall appear to have stopped the leak that first appeared on Oct 9, although no definite source for the leak was identified. The reactor staff refilled the pool on Nov. 20 and returned all equipment to their locations. Over the Thanksgiving Day holiday and weekend, water loss was only that due to evaporation.
Research projects and classes using the reactor and the reactor bay resumed Monday. Reactor staff will try to accommodate all researchers in facilitating their postponed research.
The Breazeale Reactor provides nuclear analytical and testing facilities in support of the research and education activities of faculty, staff, and students at Penn State.
The Penn State Breazeale reactor is a TRIGA (Training Research and Isotope production General Atomic) reactor manufactured by General Atomics. It has a 1000-kilowatt steady state capacity and 2000-megawatt pulsing capability. The reactor holds license R-2 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.