Military Backgrounds
editThe heavy water (Deuterium) has a particularly good neutron economy, which in turn makes for good production of high-quality weapons grade plutonium. However, Diorit was only ever used for civil research purposes and weapons grade plutonium was never extracted from it. This didn't stop the Swiss Army from thinking of itself as an emerging nuclear power during the cold war, as historian Jürg Stüssi-Lauterburg found in a study about previously-classified meeting notes.[1] The army's aspirations for nuclear armament during some phases of the cold war were at least somewhat public. For example, a Major from Solothurn wrote the following in an anniversary publication 1957:[2] ... military considerations therefore compel the procurement of nuclear weapons, even for a state whose army limits itself to defence only.
Incident 1967
editIn 1967 the reactor produced a partially melted fuel rod, which contaminated the reactor hall. Considerably raised levels of radioactivity were also measured in the River Aare. Subsequently, the complete primary heavy water cooling system had to be decontaminated by chemical milling.[3]
Conversion to Diorit II
editFollowing the Incident of 1967, the decision was made to swap out the reactor vessel. The conversion also served to transition from natural uranium fuel to enriched uranium oxide. Some workers were exposed to raised radiation levels during construction. Single doses were up to 1020 mrem, while the highest accumulated dose was 2600 mrem (26 mSv).[3]
Decommissioning
edit
Operation of Diorit ceased in 1977. First plans for dismantling were made in the early 80s, while the actual decision was made in 1994. During decommissioning of the reactor the following amounts of radioactive waste accrued: 250 t steel, 120 t concrete, 5.4 t aluminium and alloys, as well as 45 t graphite.[4]
The burnt out fuel rods were stored in a CASTOR 1c Diorit Dry cask storage container until they were transported to the central interim storage site (ZZL) of Zwilag.[5]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ J. Stüssi-Lauterburg: Historischer Abriss zur Frage einer Schweizer Nuklearbewaffnung, 1995.
- ^ 100 Jahre Solothurner Offiziersgesellschaft, 1957.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Conradwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Beer H.-F. 2009: Radioactive waste management at the Paul Scherrer Institute - The largest Swiss National Research Centre. Nuclear Technology & Radiation Protection 3/2009 S. 212–217 (PDF).
- ^ Federal Workgroup for Nuclear Waste Disposal (Agneb): 27. Tätigkeitsbericht der Arbeitsgruppe des Bundes für die nukleare Entsorgung. Swiss Office of Energy (BFE), 1 April 2005.
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Category:Defunct nuclear reactors Category:Former nuclear power stations Category:Former nuclear research institutes Category:Nuclear accidents and incidents Category:Nuclear power stations in Switzerland Category:Nuclear technology in Switzerland Category:Radioactively contaminated areas Category:Science and technology in Switzerland Category:1957 establishments in Switzerland Category:1977 disestablishments