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ANSTO Background
Why is there a reactor called OPAL at ANSTO?
Radioisotopes are the radioactive component of radiopharmaceuticals which are used to diagnose and treat disease. On average, every Australian will have a nuclear medicine procedure using an ANSTO radiopharmaceutical during their lifetime.
OPAL has the capacity to produce four times more radioisotopes for nuclear medicine than Australia's first reactor HIFAR. The isotopes produced in the world-class reactor will be used in more than 80% of diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures (about 470 000 procedures) in Australia every year, and enhance ANSTO's capability for new nuclear medicine research.
Water sampling
The reactor is also used by scientists and post-graduate students from around Australia and from other countries for research in the areas of neutron scattering, materials, radiopharmaceutical and environmental science. Specialised radioisotopes are made for industrial applications and environment assessment such as tracing the movement of sand in Port Hacking and of sewage along the Sydney coastline. One industrial application of the reactor is silicon irradiation (the irradiated silicon is used to make high quality computer chips).
OPAL is not used for electrical power generation or any military purpose.
More information about OPAL
How big is OPAL
OPAL is a fraction of the size of a power reactor. Its core is about the size of bar fridge and contains about 7 kilograms of uranium-235.
The heart of OPAL is a compact-sized core of 16 low-enriched uranium fuel assemblies interspersed with control rods. OPAL uses low enriched uranium fuel, produces 20 megawatts of thermal energy and operates 340 days per year. OPAL operates at atmospheric air pressure.
By comparison, a typical electricity-generating reactor holds more than 150 tonnes of fuel, operates at several times atmospheric pressure and produces 3 000 megawatts of thermal energy.