Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
4/10/2015
The International Atomic Energy Agency and National Nuclear Security Administration will support the Jamaican government in converting the Caribbean’s only research reactor from highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel later this year, according to an IAEA press release. Housed at the University of West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica, the fuel will be returned to the U.S. “The additional capacity will allow us to expand research work related to food safety, food security, water and air quality,” said Charles Grant, Director General of the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS) at UWI in Kingston, Jamaica. “With the additional capacity we will be able to accommodate the research needs of other countries” from the Caribbean. The conversion is part of global efforts to eliminate HEU-related risks while maintaining scientific research. Throughout the last three decades, Jamaica has operated a 20-kilowatt research reactor at UWI with results in environmental, agricultural, and health-related studies, and mineral exploration, education and training, according to the release.
The Jamaican government in November requested IAEA assistance in converting the research reactor from HEU to LEU fuel, in addition to supporting future operational needs, and ensuring the process is carried out in full compliance with IAEA safety and security standards, and meets all safeguard provisions, according to the release. Jamaican, U.S. and IAEA officials in March discussed the implementation plan for the conversion and future assistance. Following the conversion, the reactor will double its daily length of operation, from eight to 16 hours. The country hopes to get help from the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme to enhance their capacities in the use of nuclear techniques, and eventually offer services to other countries in the region, the release states. “These could include offering dosimetry services to hospitals and other workplaces handling radioactive sources and to build a regional capacity building centre for emergency preparedness,” according to the release.
