Establishing the 1 st RR in Lebanon: Justification , Needs and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Establishing the 1st RR in Lebanon: Justification , Needs and Strategy Rony El Bitar, Bilal Nsouli Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission

IAEA Workshop on Regulatory Inspection Programmes for Research Reactors . 28 September – 2 October 2014, Cairo, Egypt.

Lebanon country profile

Total Area: 10452 Km2 Sea Port: Beirut Coastline: 220 Km Population: 3,578,036 (July 2000 est.) Climate: Mediterranean. Languages: Arabic (official), French, English.

Establishment of the LAEC Mandate, Function and Responsibilities

The LAEC was established in 1996 with the full support and assistance of the IAEA LAEC mandate :

• Encourage and develop the peaceful use of Atomic Energy in the country and

spread the Culture of Safety and Security of Radiation Sources.

• Fulfill the technical requirements of ratified conventions between Lebanon and

IAEA.

• Establish the national infrastructure for radiation protection and prepare the

necessary legislations for protecting the public, workers and environment against ionizing radiation.

• Strengthening

regulatory capabilities and regulatory infrastructure, and Establishment of the necessary safety infrastructure to build our first research reactor.

• Developing Human Resources for Nuclear Technologies.

Justification (Why a RR?)

• Create a national research team in the field of nuclear

applications /reactor physics: coordinated and supported by the CNRS (new mandate by law 2008)

• Initiate a synergy between concerned researchers and create

a good research atmosphere in the field of fundamental and applied nuclear physics

• Build and develop national capacities in the field of nuclear

reactor for any possible development in the future

• Follow the trend of socio economical development via

nuclear program in the nuclear renaissance era and put the country on the regional map in this field

Needs and Issues : Choice of the RR type

Potential use (NAA, PGNAA, ND)

• Elemental characterization and quantification in various kind
• f samples (environment, geology, agriculture, biology,

archeology, interstellar, materials science, forensic)

• Neutron diffraction including reflectometry for surface and

thin films application

• Education and training in basic sciences and technology
• HRD for nuclear technology and applications

Stakeholders, Potential Allies and Impacted Domains

Education/Training Biology/pharmaceutics Agriculture Environment Archaeology Geology Research Reactor Forensic

Advantages of LPR’s :MNSR

• Low capital cost 5-10M$ project
• Low operating cost
• High Safety
• Simple to operate
• Less restrictive containment and sitting requirements
• Location at universities
• Low fuel burn-up (no need for refueling)
• Long operation times per year (short maintenance time)
• Irradiated samples are not highly radioactive
• Fewer handling restrictions are required
• Administrative procedures may be less stringent (political issues)
• Long lifetime of the RR due to less ageing effects

Status and progress of on-going preparatory activities.

• On-going TC project to start the 1st RR in the country

“Studying the Feasibility of Establishing a Nuclear Research Reactor and Developing Human Resources for Nuclear Technologies”.

• Preparing Pre-project assessment report and preliminary strategic

plan.

• National Seminars:

– National Seminar on Establishment of a New Research Reactor, Beirut 25-29 October 2010. – National workshop on methodology for Research Reactor site evaluation and review of proposed site options, Beirut, 13 - 14 December 2012.

Thanks for you attention