Reed College Porilond, Oregon
97202
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The experience o f a small college
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w i t h a nuclear reactor
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I t can be said, I suppose, that Reed College "entered the nuclear age" in the fall of 1947 when three chemistry majors chose radiochemical problems for their senior thesis projects. This start was followed almost immediately by other important developments. First, thanks to a grant from Research Corporation, Reed was able to convene a Conference on Nuclear Science in the summer of 1948. Second, a semester course in Radiochemistry was introduced into the course offerings of the Chemistry Department. And third, with the support of the Division of Biology and Medicine of the Atomic Energy Commission, Reed inaugurated in the summer of 1948, an annual 6 months' training program in the Fundamental Principles of Radioactivity for young MD's and I'hD's. This program was continued through 1959, the support in the later years coming from the Medical Branch of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. Altogether, 108 individuals received their basic training in radiochemistry in this program. Our experiences with these nuclear educational programs, especially with the research projects associated with them, led to the ambition to have a nuclear reactor on the campus. But, it was not until 1966 that the Trustees of Reed College authorized the installation of a T R I G A Alark I Reactor. Following the submission of the required Safety Analysis Report to the Division of Reactor Licensing
Figure 1. A photograph of the Reoctor Building conrtructed in 1967-68 to house the reactor. The building, which i s an oddition to the Reed Chemistry Bvilding visible in the bockground, odjoinr the Rodiochemi3try Laboratory, the only basement >pace in the Chemistry Building. The rmall door on the right foce of the Reactor Building opens to o corridor which extends to the Rodiochemirtry Laboratory. Entrance to the Reactor Facility is from the corridor. The use of the rmoll door on the left foce of the building i s reserved for special circumrtoncer. The large central doorway i s ovoiloble for movement of large or heavy equipment. The m o l l stock on the right side of the building ir connected to the ventilating ryrtem housed in a rmoll loft otop the corridor and server or the vent for air erhavrted from the Reactor Fadity. All air vented through the stock is monitored b y two detector-recorder systems, one for goreour efflventr and the other for rodiooctive porticulder.
612
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Journal of Chemical Education
of AEC, a Construction Permit was received in October, 1967. The facility was constructed during the academic year 1967-68, and the reactor became operational on July" 2.. 1968. (See Fies. ., 1-6 for details of the facility.) With regard to the cost of our reactor project, I can give the following accounting: building, $119,000; reactor, $150,000; fabrication of fuel elements, $52,000; total cost, $321,000. For the record, let me report that we received only $52,000 from Federal funds, and this came from the Division of Kuclear Education and Training of the Atomic Energy Commission. We were apparently disqualified for support from other Federal Agencies because Reed does not have a graduate program. According to the regulations of AEC, the controls of a reactor can be manipulated only by someone who has an Operator License for that particular reactor. A word on how we have satisfied this condition may be of interPaper presented at. American Chemical Society i\Ieoting, New York, September 8,1969.
Figure 2. Cutaway >ketchof the interior of the reoctor room. The reoctor tank i s 25 f t deep. The core of the reoctor rtondr on the Roor of the tonk. The latter ir kept filled with woter 123,000 gel1 to provide o shield ogoinrt radiation emitted from the core. Water i s pumped from the tonk at 120 gol/min and circulated through o heot exchanger (horizontal tonk on wolll; 15% of the circulating woter porres olro through o mired bed ion exchange column located in the mechanic01 room which i s entered through the door bock of h e rtonding figure. The Control Room i s behind window, shown in sketch. The partially obscured doorway on the right of the rketch loins the Control and Reactor Roomr. Port of the corridor between the Chemirtry Building and outride building entronce is rhown to right of rketch. Entrance to Control Room ond thence to the Reoctor Room i s from this mrridor. Windows in the corridor make it possible for young visitors to view the reactor in operation from outride the Reoctor Room. Thc rpoce above the corridor hovter equipment for the fairly elaborate ventilating ryrtem of the Reactor Room. One of f i ~ estorage wells, each 12 f t deep, i s locoted on the ride of the tonk opposite the Control Room, rhown on the left of the rketch.
Figure 3. Reactor Room photographed from position n e w door to Con. trol Room. Plastic ,heeling which covers open portion of tank ir partially drown bock to enoble operator to move neutron source located in the core. Beyond the plartic sheeting is "bridge" and grill. The "bridge" carries I1 J the three motors ond rock-ond-pinion drives to raise ond iower the mntrol rods and (21, the rectangular box which encloser the motor ~ n d mechanism to rotote the lazy ruson. The horizontal tank on the far wall ir the heot exchanger through which woter from the tonk i s circvloted far coding purposes. Just below the heof exchanger is the board which dirploys, by meonr of colored tags, the looding of aii item, in the reactor core. Two of the three monitoring units are visible in the photograph. Below the heot exchanger ir the CAM Icontinuour air monitor1 which monitor3 air drawn from over the surface of the woter in the tank; and iron wpportl in the near left-hond corner of the tonk carry the RAM lore. moo lorl, a gommo dete
