A Training Experience of Operators with the AGN-201 “Costanza” Research Reactor of Palermo University

Abstract

The nuclear reactor AGN-201 named “Costanza”, installed at the Nuclear Engineering Section of the Department of Energy of the University of Palermo, is a “zero power” research reactor designed to be mainly used for education purposes as well as for research applications, such as activation analysis and irradiation tests, and last, but not the least, for radionuclide production to be used in nuclear medical applications. Due to its intrinsic safety and low margin of reactivity (less than 350 p.c.m.) so as to the absence of start-up and shut-down time limits, it represents a useful training tool for operators, too. This paper reports some of the activities carried out within the framework of reactor operator training, which highlight the simplicity of control of AGN-201 reactor, its intrinsic safety and its overall versatility as a valuable tool for training and education in various fields of nuclear engineering.