Saturday, 28 July, 2007

by Richard Macey
Sydney Morning Herald

AUSTRALIA'S new $400 million Lucas Heights nuclear research reactor, opened by the Prime Minister, John Howard, three months ago, has been shut down after three uranium fuel plates came loose.

It is expected to be out of operation for eight weeks while the problem is fixed, the chief executive of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Dr Ian Smith, said yesterday.

Dubbed OPAL, the reactor is powered by 16 fuel assemblies, each containing 21 uranium plates about eight centimetres square.

In three assemblies one plate had become dislodged and risen "a few centimetres", a Lucas Heights spokeswoman, Sharon Kelly, said.

"It was only noticed when we did a routine shutdown to do a fuel change," she said, adding that the reactor had been working normally.

"It is possibly a manufacturing problem. We have to find out why they got loose."

Although there was no danger, the nuclear safety authority had been informed, she said.

Engineers will use the unplanned shutdown to study another fault, a minor water leak, noticed in February.

Ms Kelly said no radioactivity had escaped as a result of either problem.