The IAEA said there are 224 research reactors in operation across 53 countries and while many are used to their full capacity, several are underutilised.
“Many research reactors were built to address an immediate need at that time. Now, many years later, their mission statement must be reviewed,” said Nuno Pessoa Barradas, a research reactor specialist at the IAEA.
Many of today’s operational research reactors were built during the 1950s and 60s when they were a new tool, and many countries were interested in exploring and discovering their potential, the agency said.
“Now that this potential is better understood and new applications are being developed, it has become widely recognised that some research reactors could be better utilised to harness their full potential.”
Many countries are collaborating to maximise the use of existing research reactors, and some have already built, or are planning to build, new research reactors with plans for maximum utilisation.
The aim is to “fully harness the benefits of these powerful tools for many uses”, such as developing nuclear power programmes, pursuing research and development, providing analysis and irradiation services and producing radioisotopes to be used in medicine and industry.
