94:
8 inches. The cylindrical base is 22 feet 4 inches high and rests on a bed plate that is bolted to the reinforced concrete foundation ring. The foundation of the confinement building is a 5 ft. thick reinforced concrete mat bearing on the soil beneath the building. The interior of the confinement building contained the reactor and biological shield and was divided into equipment, experimental, balcony, and operations levels. The operations level contained the control room, instrument and maintenance shops, labs and offices. The equipment level contained the spent fuel pool water purification system, pumps and heat exchangers, cooling systems, and the spent fuel pool. The experimental level was for scientific users. The reactor biological shield, which surrounded the reactor, occupied the central portion of this level. A large open space surrounding the biological shield housed experimental equipment and there were labs and offices along the perimeter wall. Offices, locker rooms, toilets, and HVAC equipment were located on the balcony. The confinement building has four access points: a personnel airlock; a forklift airlock; and two tractor-trailer airlocks, one located on the experimental level and one on the equipment level.
132:, had been produced during the experiment and were released in the fire. Smoke from the fire was identified by on-duty personnel approximately 2:20 a.m.; the reactor was shut down at 2:45 a.m. and the HFBR confinement evacuated at 3:47 a.m. At 4:51 a.m. BNL officials declared an Alert emergency, the second lowest of four emergency classifications. The fire self-extinguished after the electrical power supply to the experiment was turned off.
168:
182:
72:
pool that released tritium-contaminated water into the ground. The reactor remained shut for three years for safety and environmental reviews. In
January 1998, all the spent fuel was removed and shipped off site to allow for the insertion of a stainless steel liner in the spent fuel pool for the restart of the reactor. However, in November 1999, the Department of Energy decided to permanently shut down the HFBR.
89:
O) served as the moderator/neutron reflector and primary coolant. The reactor vessel was fabricated from an aluminum alloy and contained the active core, reflector, and control rods. The vessel consists of an 82-inch diameter spherical section welded to a 46-inch diameter cylinder. The overall height
150:
The decontamination and decommissioning of the HFBR complex, consisting of multiple structures and systems to operate and maintain the reactor, was completed from 1999 until 2009. The control rod blades were removed and shipped offsite in 2009. The emptied and cleaned HFBR dome, which still contains
93:
The reactor was housed within a confinement structure topped by a semi-hemispherical dome. The reactor sat inside a confinement building constructed of welded steel plates supported by an I-beam framework that rests on a cylindrical base. The inside diameter of the hemisphere at its base is 176 feet
67:
The reactor first reached criticality on
October 31, 1965. About twice as large as the preceding BGRR, the HFBR initially operated at a thermal power level of 40 megawatts. Following an equipment upgrade in 1982, the reactor was operated at up to 60 megawatts thermal; a safety reanalysis resulted in
138:
At the time of the fire, a minute amount of radiation was released to the atmosphere from the vent stack serving BGRR and HFBR. The amount of radiation released was compared to a few seconds to typical background radiation. BNL officials and New York state health officials agreed that there was no
101:
As a research reactor, HFBR never had a power conversion system to generate electricity. Heat from the nuclear reactions was transferred from the circulating heavy water moderator and coolant to a secondary cooling loop of ordinary water which flowed through cooling towers located west of the HFBR
97:
Nine neutron beam lines extended from the HFBR in a radial spoke pattern. Up to 15 experiments could be run concurrently on the nine beam lines. Two reactor operators and two supervisors crewed the HFBR control room around the clock. In addition to the beam lines, seven sample irradiation thimbles
111:
External to the reactor building, and shared with the previously constructed BGRR, was the
Reactor Bypass Filter Facility (RBFF). This facility provided improved air cleaning prior to exhaust to the atmosphere in the unlikely event of a fuel element failure at either the BGRR or the HFBR. It also
71:
The HFBR shut down in
December 1996 for routine maintenance and refueling. During shutdown, a leak of tritiated water was identified by routine sampling of groundwater from wells located adjacent to the reactor's spent fuel pool. Upon further investigation, a leak was discovered in the spent fuel
84:
cooled and moderated, enriched uranium fueled research reactor. The reactor core consisted of 28 individual fuel assemblies arranged in a close-packed array. The fuel material was enriched uranium alloyed in aluminum and clad with aluminum in curved plates. Heavy water
120:
On March 31, 1994, a small fire broke out in one of the beam line experiments being conducted on the experimental floor outside of the reactor and biological shield. The reactor, associated reactor operations systems, and safety systems were not involved in the fire.
128:-148, named TRISTAN, which burned contained a cylindrical capsule of 5 grams of uranium approximately 1 inch in diameter and 1 ½ inches tall. The capsule had been exposed to neutrons from a reactor beam line. Solid and gaseous fission products, including gaseous
90:
of the vessel assembly was 24.75 feet. There were nine horizontal beam entry tubes that are integral parts of the vessel's spherical section. The core region provided space and access for 16 experimental facilities.
59:
for multiple scientific uses. The reactor provided a source of neutrons for multidisciplinary scientific research in materials science, chemistry, biology, and physics. The reactor was used in the formulation of
151:
the irradiated reactor vessel is maintained under surveillance. Final decommissioning of the HFBR confinement is to be performed at the end of a radionuclide decay period not exceeding 65 years.
135:
Seven laboratory personnel were minimally contaminated by radionuclides entrained in the smoke from the fire. All seven were decontaminated at showers at the lab and released to return home.
154:
The red and white, 320-foot-tall exhaust stack constructed for the BGRR in 1949 and later shared with the HFBR was a distinctive landmark for the area until its demolition in 2020.
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112:
provided sufficient air cleaning to allow the use of air cooling as a method of combating a graphite fire at the BGRR. The facility was placed into operation in 1965.
36:
105:
Notably, the reactor produced its greatest neutron flux outside of the core, rather than within, which allowed for greatest options in the design of experiments.
1203:
307:
Hu, Jih-Perng; Reciniello, Richard N.; Holden, Norman E. (August 2012). "Decommissioning of the High Flux Beam
Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory".
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HFBR was shut down for multiple investigations until June 1994, then restarted. The TRISTAN experiment was permanently discontinued.
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for neutron activation experiments were provided which extended from the spherical reactor vessel towards the nuclear fuel.
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During 1993, the HFBR underwent safety upgrades as well as installation of new scientific instruments.
412:"The Design, Test, and Use of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Reactor Bypass Filter Facility"
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the HFBR being shut down in 1989 and being limited to 30 megawatts thermal upon restart in 1991.
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357:"Brookhaven highlights. Report on research, October 1, 1992--September 30, 1993"
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47:, the HFBR operated from 1965 until 1996 and has been partially decommissioned.
355:
Rowe, M. S.; Belford, M.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L. (1993-12-31).
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Brookhaven
History: Using Reactors as Research Tools – High Flux Beam Reactor
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549:"Cleanup Workers Set to Tear Down Iconic Brookhaven Reactor Stack This Year"
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64:-winning theories of cooperative ordering in large collections of atoms .
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498:“Unclouding the Issue at HFBR” Brookhaven Bulletin. February 2, 1996.
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466:"High Flux Beam Reactor | Environmental Restoration Projects | BNL"
279:"High Flux Beam Reactor | Environmental Restoration Projects | BNL"
230:- Brookhaven National Laboratory official page on the HFBR complex.
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Former research reactor at
Brookhaven National Laboratory, US
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https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/bulletin/1996/bb020296.pdf
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Brookhaven
National Laboratory. Accessed December 19, 2020
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United States
Department of Energy national laboratory
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55:The primary purpose of the HFBR was to produce
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517:"7 Exposed to Radiation in U.S. Lab Accident"
139:danger posed to the public from the release.
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1434:Anti-nuclear movement in the United States
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214:(BMRR), another reactor which operated at
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410:McClintock, R. O. (1966-10-31).
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515:Wald, Matthew L. (1994-04-01).
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216:Brookhaven National Laboratory
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321:10.1097/HP.0b013e318259501f
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188:Nuclear technology portal
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443:Cite journal requires
388:Cite journal requires
21:High Flux Beam Reactor
1210:whole plants only)
1029:Connecticut Yankee
521:The New York Times
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1208:(incomplete list,
1169:Three Mile Island
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1218:Allens Creek
1154:Shippingport
1119:Oyster Creek
1109:Maine Yankee
1094:Indian Point
1089:Humboldt Bay
1084:Hanford Site
1069:Fort Calhoun
825:Enrico Fermi
765:Turkey Point
695:Browns Ferry
660:Peach Bottom
609:NRC Region I
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1318:Levy County
1263:CFPP, Idaho
1189:Yankee Rowe
1139:Rancho Seco
925:South Texas
860:Quad Cities
850:Point Beach
815:Davis–Besse
675:Susquehanna
630:FitzPatrick
612:(Northeast)
470:www.bnl.gov
82:heavy water
62:Nobel Prize
39:located in
31:located at
1358:Summer-2/3
1353:Stanislaus
1343:Sears Isle
1303:Hartsville
1258:Bodega Bay
1253:Blue Hills
1243:Bellefonte
1179:Vallecitos
1144:San Onofre
1124:Pathfinder
935:Wolf Creek
920:River Bend
915:Palo Verde
910:Grand Gulf
835:Monticello
730:North Anna
640:Hope Creek
558:2023-02-17
553:Energy.gov
534:2023-02-17
475:2023-02-17
288:2023-02-17
235:References
130:iodine-131
1363:Sundesert
1248:Black Fox
1238:Bell Bend
1204:Cancelled
1104:La Crosse
1059:Elk River
944:Converted
930:Waterford
840:Palisades
795:Braidwood
787:(Midwest)
775:Watts Bar
700:Brunswick
650:Millstone
529:0362-4331
240:Citations
126:lanthanum
1464:Category
1368:Victoria
1338:Offshore
1333:Montague
1268:Cherokee
1223:Atlantic
1159:Shoreham
1099:Kewaunee
961:Somerset
890:Columbia
885:Callaway
880:Arkansas
745:Sequoyah
740:Robinson
670:Seabrook
645:Limerick
373:10143912
337:36324845
329:22739969
158:See also
57:neutrons
27:) was a
1381:3 and 5
1376:1 and 4
1129:Pilgrim
1064:Fermi 1
956:Midland
830:LaSalle
820:Dresden
805:Clinton
725:McGuire
705:Catawba
687:(South)
428:4508009
283:bnl.gov
51:History
1398:Future
1372:WPPSS
1293:Galena
1233:Barton
1228:Bailly
1174:Trojan
1149:Saxton
1079:Hallam
1054:EBR II
975:Closed
966:Zimmer
900:Cooper
872:(West)
770:Vogtle
755:Summer
735:Oconee
715:Harris
710:Farley
527:
426:
371:
335:
327:
76:Design
1308:Haven
1134:Piqua
1049:EBR I
1017:SM-1A
1002:PM-3A
987:MH-1A
845:Perry
800:Byron
760:Surry
720:Hatch
665:Salem
635:Ginna
333:S2CID
1328:MM-1
1283:Erie
1194:Zion
1044:DAEC
1039:CVTR
1012:SM-1
1007:SL-1
997:PM-1
992:ML-1
982:ANPP
810:Cook
525:ISSN
449:help
424:OSTI
394:help
369:OSTI
325:PMID
35:, a
25:HFBR
19:The
1313:Lee
416:doi
361:doi
317:doi
313:103
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379:{{
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264:^
247:^
85:(D
594:e
587:t
580:v
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