Advantages and deficiencies of RA Reactor decommissioning

Additional to the analysis of the existing state of all the reactor components and systems and the reactor as a whole, this Annex reviews the attitude of the relevant laboratories if the Institute and their needs as reactor users. It was concluded that apart from the needs in the field of solid state and condensed matter research, not more than 10 scientists, there is no interest for reactor application in the Institute. The actions concerning renewal, reconstruction and construction of equipment that would needed for reactor restart are estimated to be very expensive and in case of success would extend the reactor service life for not more than 10-15 years. The working group which was responsible for this analysis concluded that the restart of the RA reactor would not be feasible mostly due to aging and outdated design of this system. It is mentioned that, parallel to the decision making about RA reactor decommissioning, possible commissioning of a more adequate reactor facility should be analyzed, taking into account the value of the existing highly enriched fuel elements and heavy water