Editing Fast Flux Test Facility

{{Short description|Deactivated nuclear test reactor in US}}
{{No footnotes|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Fftf-site-labels.jpg|thumb|The Fast Flux Test Facility with labels]]
[[File:FFTF completion.jpg|thumb|Commemorative photo marking the completion of the FFTF system.]]
The '''Fast Flux Test Facility''' ('''FFTF''') is a 400 [[megawatt|MW]] thermal, [[Sodium-cooled fast reactor|liquid sodium cooled]], [[Nuclear reactor|nuclear test reactor]] owned by the [[United States|U.S.]] [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]].
It does not generate electricity. It is situated in the ''400 Area'' of the [[Hanford Site]], which is located in the state of [[Washington (state)|Washington]].

==History==
The construction of the FFTF was completed in 1978, and the first reaction took place in 1980.  From April 1982 to April 1992 it operated as a national research facility to test various aspects of commercial reactor design and operation, especially relating to [[breeder reactor]]s.  The FFTF is not a breeder reactor itself, but rather a sodium-cooled [[fast neutron reactor]], as the name suggests.

It is stated on the site dedicated to the FFTF, that it tested "advanced [[Enriched uranium|nuclear fuels]], materials, [[wikt:component|components]], [[nuclear power]] plant operations and maintenance protocols, and reactor safety designs."

By 1993, the number of uses to which the reactor could be put was diminishing, so the decision was taken in December of that year to deactivate it. Over the next three years, the active parts of the facility were gradually halted, [[Nuclear reactor#Types of reactors|fuel rods]] removed and stored in above-ground [[Dry cask storage|dry storage vessels]].
However, in January 1997, the DOE ordered that the reactor be maintained in a standby condition, pending a decision as to whether to incorporate it into the US Government's [[tritium]] production program, for both [[nuclear medicine|medical]] and [[Fusion power|fusion]] research.

Since then, due to legal wrangling, decommissioning has been stopped and restarted at intervals. In December 2001, the deactivation was continued, after the DOE found that it was not needed for tritium production. Work was halted in 2002 when court action was begun. As of May 2003, deactivation has continued, and it is currently in a state of ''cold standby''.

In May 2005 the core support basket was drilled to drain the remaining sodium coolant, which effectively made the reactor unusable. However, a technical study is being pursued with regard to repairing the reactor.{{fact|date=December 2023}} As the coolant was drained, the system was filled with high purity argon gas to prevent corrosion. The support basket is an unpressurized area, and the reactor core has not yet been breached (as of June 2006).{{fact|date=December 2023}}

[[Image:FFTF 1a-041403 large.jpg|thumb|right|Frontal view of the Fast Flux Test Facility]]

The reason for renewed interest in the FFTF is that [[Nuclear renaissance|the global atmosphere with regard to nuclear energy has changed]], and the US is pursuing nuclear power once again. To build a similar facility would cost an estimated $2–5 billion.{{fact|date=December 2023}}

In April, 2006, the FFTF was honored by the [[American Nuclear Society]] as a "National Nuclear Historic Landmark". Achievements cited include:

*[[Radioactive decay|Radiation]] exposure to operators was 1/100 of commercial power reactors.
*Established a world record for fuel performance.
*Produced extremely high quality rare [[Radionuclide|radioisotopes]] for medicine and industry.
*Conducted the first passive safety testing.
*Demonstrated commercial viability of breeder reactor components, materials and fuels.
*Provided fundamental experimental data for fusion programs.
*Advanced the fuels and materials development for space nuclear power.
*Demonstrated miniaturized reactor test techniques.
*Demonstrated the feasibility of transmuting radioactive [[technetium-99]] into a non-radioactive element using a reactor.  Technetium-99 is one of the most troublesome long-lived components of the [[Radioactive waste|nuclear waste]] stream.  Processing out this [[isotope]] and destroying it, permanently reduces the risks associated with long term storage.

The probable successor to the FFTF will be the [[Versatile Test Reactor]], which will roughly have the same size and capabilities as future test reactor and which will be built at [[Idaho National Laboratory]] in [[Idaho]] or [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] in [[Tennessee]] in the 2020s.

==References==
* {{cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.2968/060005014| first=John | last=Abbotts | title=The long, slow death of the fast flux reactor | journal=[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] | volume=60 | issue=5 | date=September 2004 | pages=56-62 | doi=10.2968/060005014}}
* {{cite report |url=http://pdw.hanford.gov/arpir/pdf.cfm?accession=D197320118 |title=Medical Isotope Production at the Fast Flux Test Facility - A Technical and Economic Assessment |publisher=Department of Energy |date=November 1997 |access-date=17 February 2015}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fast Flux Test Facility}}
*{{cite news
 |author=Annette Cary 
 |url=http://www.hanfordnews.com/news/2006/story/7638573p-7550214c.html 
 |title=FFTF gets historic landmark designation 
 |publisher=Tri-City Herald 
 |date=2006-04-18 
 |access-date=2006-05-31 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506100349/http://www.hanfordnews.com/news/2006/story/7638573p-7550214c.html 
 |archive-date=2006-05-06 
 |url-status=dead 
}}
*{{cite news
|author = Annette Cary
|url = http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/7878041p-7771676c.html
|title = Group says DOE should consider restarting FFTF
|publisher = Tri-City Herald
|date = 2006-06-20
|access-date = 2006-06-27
}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

*{{cite news|author=The Associated Press |url=http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/state/story/6444491p-6324093c.html |title=Core drilling kills last hope to revive Hanford research reactor |publisher=Tri-City Herald |date=2005-05-20 |access-date=2006-06-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502204918/http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/state/story/6444491p-6324093c.html |archive-date=May 2, 2005 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/400AreaFFTF |title=400 Area/Fast Flux Test Facility |publisher=Department of Energy |work=Hanford |date=9 March 2014 |access-date=17 February 2015}}
*{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.hanford.gov/rl/?page=304&parent=0
 |title       = DOE Richland Operations Office Fast Flux Test Facility
 |access-date  = 2006-05-31
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060617095850/http://www.hanford.gov/rl/?page=304&parent=0
 |archive-date = 2006-06-17
}}
*{{cite web
|url = http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/WA3269
|title = The Center for Land Use Interpretation
|access-date = 2006-05-31
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061003073249/http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/WA3269/
|archive-date = 2006-10-03
|url-status = dead
}}
*[http://econtent.unm.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/nuceng/id/66/rec/71 Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) SFR (drawing)]
*[https://doi.org/10.2172/5994440 Fast Flux Test Facility: the first three years, 1982-1985, HEDL-7480, 1985]

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[[Category:Nuclear reactors in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Fast-neutron reactors]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Benton County, Washington]]
[[Category:Hanford Site]]