The BR2 materials testing reactor. Application of the Safety Standards and the Code of Conduct on the Safety of Research Reactors.

Abstract. The BR2 is a water cooled, beryllium moderated, highly enriched uranium fuelled, materials testing reactor. Thermal neutron fluxes go up 1019 n/m².s, fast fluxes go up to 5x1018 n/m².s. The reactor is used for fuel research programs, for materials characterization programs, for radio isotopes production and for silicon doping. The reactor is operated by SCK•CEN, the Belgian nuclear research centre. SCK•CEN operates also others as the BR1, an air cooled, graphite moderated, natural uranium reactor. The SCK•CEN's laboratory for high and medium level activity evaluates the effects of neutron irradiation in fuel and in structural materials. SCK•CEN dismantles its BR3, a 10MWe plant and operates an underground laboratory to study clay formations as potential geological host formation for long-lived and high-active nuclear waste. SCK•CEN designs MYRRHA, an accelerator driven subcritical reactor system. The paper extends on elements on the application of the safety standards and the code of conduct on the safety of research reactors.