International MNSR Training Center
Plans for the conversion of the Chinese origin miniature neutron source reactors (MNSRs) to low-enriched uranium (LEU), and the return of the high- enriched uranium (HEU) core to China, were initiated in February 2011 when an international MNSR Working Group (WG) was established to coordinate these activities. Based on a Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) decision, the MNSR core at the GHARR-1 facility was selected for pilot shipment. Working on the preparation of the HEU MNSR materials’ removal from the GHARR-1 facility as a training tool, a mock-up MNSR vessel was built for operator training. Experiencing the usefulness of the mock-up vessel in operator training in the Ghana case has since been developed further into a full-scale training facility, named the International MNSR Training Center (IMTC), which is now available for training operators from MNSR operating countries. The main objective of this Book is to document the IMTC as a full-scale MNSR training facility in operator training for HEU MNSR core discharge and packaging. The goal is to describe the IMTC in its full complexity — that is: (1) to present the IMTC’s buildings with its internal and outer areas; (2) to provide a full listing of the installed equipment, as well as a functional description, available at the IMTC site; (3) to introduce the training materials, tutorials, and training program; and (4) to present the training sessions and Dry-run demonstration of the recently completed NIRR-1 operator training, with their experiences and lessons-learned included. This Book serves as a kind of user manual for the IMTC, which contains all of the information to launch training courses at the site at any time. The target audience for this Book is the MNSR community, especially MNSR operators and regulators who are facing HEU-LEU core conversion and HEU material transportation, who require operator training to carry out their jobs safely and professionally.