Rosatom finishes first batch of nuclear fuel for Bolivia
Monday, October 28, 2024 – 21:46 UTC
Bolivia was the first South American country to use Russian nuclear fuel, said Rosatom’s Oleg Grigoriyev
The Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom has completed the first batch of nuclear fuel for the reactor being built in the Bolivian city of El Alto for the Center for Research and Development in Nuclear Technology (CIDTN) of the South American country, as announced this Monday in Moscow. The Russian government agency also said in a statement that chemicals manufactured at Rosatom’s Novosibirsk facility had “passed acceptance inspection.” The fuel will be delivered in 2025, it was also explained.
The CIDTN is a joint project that aims to strengthen Rosatom’s position in the world market. The CIDTN is currently under construction and will begin operating in stages. The center consists of four components: the Preclinical Radiopharmacy Cyclotron Complex (PRCC) and the Multipurpose Irradiation Center (MIC), both already in operation, while the Radioecology and Radiobiology laboratories are about to be inaugurated and the Nuclear Research Reactors is currently under construction, according to Sputnik News.
Using TVS VRR-M2 fuel, the BR-01 research reactor is expected to produce radioisotopes for scientific research, as well as be used in materials studies and training purposes. The 200 kW pool-type pressurized water research reactor, developed by the Russian Research Institute of Atomic Reactors, is designed to have a service life of 50 years and is part of a Russian-Bolivian project to create a center for nuclear research and technology in El Alto, at more than 4,000 meters above sea level. The research reactor vessel was delivered and installed in its design position in 2023. It will be the highest altitude research reactor in the world.
Bolivia was the first South American country to use Russian nuclear fuel, said Oleg Grigoriyev, Senior Vice President of Trade and International Business at Rosatom’s fuel division, TVEL. “Rosatom has extensive experience in building research reactor facilities abroad and traditionally supplies them with nuclear fuel throughout their useful life,” he added. “The Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant has been producing nuclear fuel and its components for research reactors in various regions of the world for 50 years, including facilities of both Russian and foreign design,” he continued.
The Cyclotron Preclinical Radiopharmacy Complex is now operational. It will produce a line of pharmaceutical products to supply Bolivian nuclear medicine centers, thus allowing faster and higher quality diagnoses and treatments. The Multipurpose Irradiation Center has also been completed.
Rosatom announced the signing of the contract with the Bolivian Nuclear Energy Agency in September 2017 for the construction of the nuclear research and technology center in El Alto. Construction of the facility began in July 2021. The expected completion time is 2025.
