Secin SA metallurgical company completed the basin of the rector and the multipurpose nuclear reactor service pool that the CNEA builds in the Ezeiza Atomic Center.
The president of the National Atomic Energy Commission, Osvaldo Calzetta Larrieu, together with authorities from the Undersecretary of Nuclear Energy and Invap visited the facilities of the Secin SA metallurgical company, in Quilmes, province of Buenos Aires, where this new achievement of the Project RA-10.
The pool is one of the fundamental components of this reactor, since it will house the core of components made up of fuel elements, control rods and other devices that constitute it. On the other hand, the service pool will constitute the site that will allow to take advantage of its different functionalities.
During the tour of the company’s facilities, the president of CNEA congratulated the professionals and technicians of Secin, Invap and CNEA for the result of the work done, which confirms that Argentina has the real capacity to design, manufacture and put in operation nuclear reactors as it has been doing since the construction of the RA-1, in 1958.
The National Director of Nuclear Policies, Facundo Deluchi, highlighted the importance of this milestone for the sector as it confirms “the sustainability of nuclear projects in terms of existing human capabilities and the results obtained because, not only do they place Argentina as a key player in the provision of services and production of radioisotopes worldwide, but also generate concrete economic and social benefits “.
When carrying out the symbolic delivery of this vital component of the RA-10, the president of Secin SA, Luis Manini, valued the successful public-private interaction that took place between CNEA, Invap and the company, and predicted the continuity of this type of projects that consolidate the specialization achieved through this type of work experience together.
For his part, the manager of the RA-10 Project, Herman Blaumann, also pondered that the main input of the 14-meter high vessel that will be installed in Ezeiza is “the gray matter of the engineers and technicians who in CNEA and Invap carried out the design, as well as the training acquired by the welders of Secin SA, who received certificates of aptitude for the demanding requirements of the nuclear industry “.
The RA-10 project carries out the design, construction, assembly and operation of a multipurpose nuclear reactor whose objective is the provision of radioisotopes for medical and industrial use, while at the same time providing nuclear capabilities for scientific research.
The reactor pool – which is equivalent to the pressure vessel if it were a power reactor – is a strategic component because it will house the core of the RA-10. It has 14 meters high by 4.5 meters wide. On its sides you can see the different cylinders that will be coupled to the pipes that will allow its operation.
For assembly, the pools will be moved in one piece from the Secin industrial plant in Quilmes to the Ezeiza Atomic Center in September. It is expected that this component will exceed a useful life of 60 years.
Once it is functioning, the RA-10 will ensure the supply of radioisotopes for medical use at the national level and will have the capacity to export to the world market. This will generate a strategic impact for our country in the areas of health, science, applied research, technological development and services.
The Argentine Laboratory of Haces de Neutrones (LAHN) will work alongside the reactor facilities, where professionals and technicians will be trained in order to achieve research capabilities in basic sciences and technological applications that contribute to the creation of a regional science pole and technology.
