The Ewa Reactor was Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

's first research nuclear reactor

Nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...

. Its name is derived from the first letters of the Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

 words: Eksperymentalny (Experimental), Wodny (Water), and Atomowy (Atomic) as a reference to the Eve Curie

Ève Curie

Ève Denise Curie Labouisse was a French-American writer, journalist and pianist. Ève Curie was the younger daughter of Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. Her sister was Irène Joliot-Curie and her brother-in-law Frédéric Joliot-Curie...

.

History

It was activated on June 14, 1958, in the Instytut Badań Jądrowych (Institute of Nuclear Research) (Currently the Instytut Energii Atomowej [Atomic Energy Institute] ) in Otwock

Otwock

Otwock is a town in central Poland, some southeast of Warsaw, with 42,765 inhabitants . It is situated on the right bank of Vistula River below the mouth of Swider River. Otwock is home to a unique architectural style called Swidermajer....

 near Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

. It was deactivated it in February 1995 due to a shortage of uranium

Uranium

Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...

 for experiments, and reactivated in April of the same year after the acquisition of new fuel. The reactor is currently deactivated and partially dismantled.

Ewa was based on the Soviet VVR-S design, had an initial power of 2 MW, was fueled by enriched uranium

Uranium

Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...

, and moderated by pressurized water. In 1963 and 1967, the reactor underwent two major overhauls that improved the safety of the reaction and allowed for the use of better enriched fuels. After these changes, the reactor's power increased first to 4 MW and ultimately to 10 MW. Its primary use was for producing radioactive isotopes. It functioned an average of 3500 hours a year.

Because of its design, the reactor is currently considered a potential site for the future site of storage of the spent fuel from the Maria Reactor

Maria reactor

The Maria reactor is Poland's second research nuclear reactor and the only one still in use. It is located at Świerk-Otwock, near Warsaw and named in honor of Maria Skłodowska-Curie...

.

See also

• Maria Reactor
  Maria reactor
  The Maria reactor is Poland's second research nuclear reactor and the only one still in use. It is located at Świerk-Otwock, near Warsaw and named in honor of Maria Skłodowska-Curie...
  
  
• List of nuclear reactors