After more than three decades, the Philippines is again operating a nuclear facility after commissioning began of the Philippines Research Reactor-1 Subcritical Assembly for Training, Education and Research (PRR-1 Sater), which will become the country’s sole nuclear reactor training facility.
The operation of the facility is a step forward as the Southeast Asian country prepares for a possible nuclear new-build programme that is supported by president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The 1 MW open pool general-purpose PRR-1 research reactor reached criticality in August 1963. In 1984, PNRI decided to convert and upgrade the reactor into a 3 MW Triga Mark III reactor. It was shut down in 1988, leaving the country with no operating nuclear facility for the past 34 years.
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