Decision comes after operation was suspended over missed deadlines
Poland’s nuclear regulator has issued a new operating licence for an indefinite period for the Maria research reactor, operation of which was suspended after its previous licence expired at the end of March.
The National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ), which operates Maria, submitted an application to the National Atomic Energy Agency (Państwowa Agencja Atomistyki, or PAA) for a new permit in August 2024.
The NCBJ was asked to provide clarifications and additional documentation, but when deadlines passed, operations were suspended.
The PAA said the decision to issue a new licence was preceded by a months-long analysis and evaluation of all documents attached to the application. It said that during the NCBJ was repeatedly requested to provide clarifications and additional information on issues that were unclear, but related to the facility’s operational safety.
Energy minister Milosz Motyka said in a statement: “For us, this is very good news and a welcome relief.”
He said the reactor has a very important role, but nuclear safety requirements must always be met.
“Now that all the necessary analyses and procedures have been properly prepared and approved, Maria can return to work and the priority is to implement a modernisation programme that will allow it to operate for another 20 years.”
Maria, a high flux research reactor which went critical for the first time in 1974, is named after Polish native and two-time Nobel laureate Maria Sklodowska-Curie, who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. It is located at the NCBJ at Swierk-Otwock, about 35 km southeast of the capital Warsaw
Medical radioisotopes generated by the plant are a vital component for a range of medical applications.
Under normal operation, Maria covers about 12-15% of the global supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), a radioisotope that decays into technetium-99m (Tc-99m), a widely used medical isotope for diagnostic imaging, particularly in nuclear medicine procedures.
Apart from the production of radioisotopes, Maria is also used for testing of fuel and structural materials for nuclear power engineering, neutron modification of materials, research in neutron and condensed matter physics and training reactor physics and technology.
