AVR

Construction began in 1960, first grid connection was in 1967 and operation ceased in
1988.

It was 15MWe, 46 MWt, and was used to develop and test a wide variety of fuels and
machinery over its lifetime. Its Helium outlet temperature was 950°C, but fuel
temperature instabilities occurred during operation with locally far too high
temperatures. As a consequence the whole reactor vessel became heavily
contaminated by Cs-137 and Sr-90 [1]. Concerning beta-contamination AVR is the
highest contaminated nuclear installation worldwide as AVR management confirmed
2001 [2]. Some contamination was also found in soil/groundwater under the reactor, as
the German government confirmed[citation needed] in January, 2010. Thus the reactor vessel
was filled in 2008 with light concrete in order to fix the radioactive dust and in 2012
the reactor vessel of 2100 metric tons will be transported about 200 meters by air-
cushion sled and seven cranes to an intermediate storage. There exists currently no
dismantling method for the AVR vessel, but it is planned to develop some procedure
during the next 60 years and to start with vessel dismantling at the end of the century.
In the meantime, after transport of the AVR vessel into the intermediate storage, the
reactor buildings will be dismantled and soil and groundwater will be decontaminated.
Fuel removal out of AVR was difficult and lasted 4 years. During this procedure it
became obvious that the AVR bottom reflector was broken; in its crack about 200 fuel
pebbles remain captured. AVR dismantling costs will exceed its construction costs by
far. AVR was the basis of the technology licensed to China to build HTR-10.