National Atomic Energy Commission
Encyclopedia
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
government
Government of Argentina
The government of Argentina, functioning within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in both the...
agency in charge of nuclear energy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
research and development.
The agency was created on May 31, 1950 with the mission of developing and controlling nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in the country.
CNEA's facilities include the Centro Atómico Bariloche (in San Carlos de Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche, is a city in the , situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake and is located inside Nahuel Huapi National Park...
), Centro Atómico Constituyentes (in the city of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
), and Centro Atómico Ezeiza (in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
). Research reactors
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...
exist in all of these sites.
Argentina currently has two operational nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
s,: the 335-MWe Atucha I
Atucha I nuclear power plant
Atucha I is one of two operational nuclear power plants of Argentina. It is located in the town of Lima, Zárate, Buenos Aires, about from Buenos Aires, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná de las Palmas River....
built by Germany's
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(Siemens
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
) and the 600-MWe Embalse
Embalse nuclear power plant
The Embalse Nuclear Power Station is one of the two operational nuclear power plants in Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of a reservoir on the Río Tercero, near the city of Embalse, Córdoba, 110 km south-southwest of Córdoba City....
built by Canadian CANDU
CANDU reactor
The CANDU reactor is a Canadian-invented, pressurized heavy water reactor. The acronym refers to its deuterium-oxide moderator and its use of uranium fuel...
. A third one, the 692-MWe Atucha II
Atucha II nuclear power plant
Atucha II is a nuclear power plant in Argentina, located in Lima, Buenos Aires, on a site next to Atucha I. Its construction started in June 1981 under a contract with Siemens, but it has not been finished . Like Atucha I, it is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor , but was planned to have a much...
, has been delayed by financial and political problems.
History
Officially established by President Juan PerónJuan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
's Decree 10936, CNEA filled the need for a state organ to oversee the funding of the Huemul Project
Huemul Project
The Huemul Project was a secret project proposed by the German scientist of Austrian origin Ronald Richter to the government of Argentina during the first presidency of Juan Domingo Perón....
in Bariloche. Before CNEA came into being, the project was funded by the Dirección de Migraciones. In practice CNEA had only four members (Juan Domingo Perón, González, Mendé and Ronald Richter
Ronald Richter
Ronald Richter was an Austrian, later Argentine, scientist who became famous in connection with the Huemul Project and the National Atomic Energy Commission. This was intended to generate energy from nuclear fusion in the 1950s in Argentina, during the presidency of Juan Perón...
). In 1951, decree 9697 created another agency, the Dirección Nacional de la Energía Atómica (DNEA), also under González, to do research on atomic energy in Buenos Aires (González left CNEA in April 1952 and was replaced by Iraolagoitía) until 1955. After being assessed by two review panels in 1952, the Huemul Project was closed and Richter was no longer a CNEA member. Research in physics and technology continued in Bariloche, but no longer along Richter's original line.
In 1955, José Antonio Balseiro
José Antonio Balseiro
José Antonio Balseiro was an Argentine physicist.Balseiro studied at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in his home city, before moving to La Plata to study and research, obtaining a doctorate in physics at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata. His doctoral dissertation was directed by Dr...
, a research scientist and member of the first review panel on the Huemul Project, took over the recently created Instituto de Física de Bariloche, now Instituto Balseiro
Instituto Balseiro
Balseiro Institute is an academic institution chartered by the National University of Cuyo and the National Atomic Energy Commission...
, which used Richter's facilities in the mainland, but abandoned the buildings in Huemul Island.
The facilities in Buenos Aires were expanded after the closure of the Huemul Project, and by the 1960s became larger in terms of size and expenditure than those in Bariloche.
The Atucha I nuclear power plant
Atucha I nuclear power plant
Atucha I is one of two operational nuclear power plants of Argentina. It is located in the town of Lima, Zárate, Buenos Aires, about from Buenos Aires, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná de las Palmas River....
was completed in 1974 and Embalse
Embalse nuclear power plant
The Embalse Nuclear Power Station is one of the two operational nuclear power plants in Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of a reservoir on the Río Tercero, near the city of Embalse, Córdoba, 110 km south-southwest of Córdoba City....
in 1984.
In 1995 CNEA's functions where divided into newly created separate organizations such as the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (Autoridad Regulatoria Nuclear - ARN), which supervises nuclear safety
Nuclear safety
Nuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power,...
in the country, and the Nucleoeléctrica Argentina - NASA, the company that operates the two completed nuclear power reactors. Today, CNEA mainly focuses on research and development of nuclear and related technologies.
In 2001 the original 1956 Directory structure of a President and five members designated by the National Executive authority was reduced, eliminating four positions of the Directory by Decrees 1065/01 and 1066/01.
On 2010 CNEA reopened the Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
plant at Pilcaniyeu
Pilcaniyeu
Pilcaniyeu is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.-References:...
inaugurated on 1983 but closed in the 1990s
Research activities
The Centro Atómico Bariloche contains the Instituto Balseiro
Instituto Balseiro
Balseiro Institute is an academic institution chartered by the National University of Cuyo and the National Atomic Energy Commission...
which depends academically on the National University of Cuyo
National University of Cuyo
The National University of Cuyo is the largest center of higher education in the province of Mendoza, Argentina....
. It has trained a couple of hundred physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
s and nuclear engineers
Nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
and produced hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers as well as other important contributions to applied and basic science.
The Centro Atómico Constituyentes has pioneered the construction of research reactors in Argentina, and has research groups in metallurgy, physics and chemistry. The Tandar accelerator is a large tandem Van de Graaff
Van de Graaff generator
A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate very high voltages on a hollow metal globe on the top of the stand. It was invented in 1929 by American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff. The potential differences achieved in modern Van de Graaff...
type facility dedicated to nuclear physics, condensed matter physics and medical research. It also has an academic unit, the Instituto Sábato, in association with the Universidad de San Martín that grants Masters and Doctors degrees in Materials Science.
The Centro Atómico Ezeiza produces nuclear isotopes for medicine
Nuclear medicine
In nuclear medicine procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the patient, can localize to specific organs...
in its RA-3 research/production reactor, and houses other research facilities.
The CNEA currently holds two U.S. patents
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
(see external links)
Spinoffs
Although power reactors in the 100-megawatt range have not been built by Argentina on its own,INVAP S.E.
INVAP
INVAP S.E. is an Argentine high-technology company dedicated to the design, integration, construction and delivery of high complexity equipment, plants and devices.-Background:...
, a company owned by the Río Negro Province
Río Negro Province
Río Negro is a province of Argentina, located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.Its capital is Viedma...
, started by graduates of the Instituto Balseiro in 1976, has exported research reactor
Research reactor
Research reactors are nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritime propulsion.-Purpose:...
s to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and most recently Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(2000). The Australian reactor, OPAL
OPAL
OPAL is a 20 megawatt pool-type nuclear research reactor that was officially opened on 20 April 2007 at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Research Establishment at Lucas Heights, located in South Sydney, Australia.The main reactor uses are:* Irradiation of target...
, featuring a core power of 20 MW became operational in 2006, reaching full power in November of that year.
Criticism
On the issue of the construction of Argentina's projected third reactor Atucha II, the Argentine government has announced (in 2003 and again in 2006) its commitment to complete the project, estimating it will cost a further US$600 million. Thus the total cost is now estimated at US$3.8 billion, or about $5500/kWe (considerably higher than the US$1.5 billion or about $2200/kWe originally planned in 1981).Nevertheless on 2010 the government signed a memorandum with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited or AECL is a Canadian federal Crown corporation and Canada's largest nuclear science and technology laboratory...
(AECL) for Atucha III as a ACR-1000 1500 MWe per $3 billion
See also
- INVAPINVAPINVAP S.E. is an Argentine high-technology company dedicated to the design, integration, construction and delivery of high complexity equipment, plants and devices.-Background:...
- International Atomic Energy AgencyInternational Atomic Energy AgencyThe International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
- United Nations Atomic Energy CommissionUnited Nations Atomic Energy CommissionThe United Nations Atomic Energy Commission was founded on 24 January 1946 by Resolution 1 of the United Nations General Assembly "to deal with the problems raised by the discovery of atomic energy."...
- United States Atomic Energy CommissionUnited States Atomic Energy CommissionThe United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
- United States Department of EnergyUnited States Department of EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
- Nuclear engineeringNuclear engineeringNuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
- Nuclear physicsNuclear physicsNuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
- Nuclear power plantNuclear power plantA nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
- Huemul ProjectHuemul ProjectThe Huemul Project was a secret project proposed by the German scientist of Austrian origin Ronald Richter to the government of Argentina during the first presidency of Juan Domingo Perón....
- UraniumUraniumUranium 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...
- PlutoniumPlutoniumPlutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
External links
- Official website
- Nucleoeléctrica Argentina S.A. - NASA
- Autoridad Regulatoria Nuclear -- "Process for the separation of components in multicomponent mixtures, for the case wherein the diagram of binary phases of the two major components presents a monotectic and their densities are different," 1976 -- "Ion beam deposition of diamond-like carbon films," 1996.
34°32′22"S 58°27′55"W