A conference on the design and safe operation of research nuclear powerreactors was held in Da Lat city, the Central Highland province of LamDong on March 19.

The conference drew theparticipation of more than 100 scientists from various countriesincluding Russia, Japan, France, the US and the Republic ofKorea (RoK).

Experts from the Russian StateNuclear Energy Corporation (Rosatom) introduced specific features ofresearch reactors in Russia, while sharing their experience in saferadiation and their proposal on the building of new-generation nuclearresearch reactors.

Meanwhile, scientists from theRoK, Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) focusedon the use of nuclear reactors to support nuclear energy development.

They also touched upon safety inspection followingincidents at research reactors as well as neutron experiments at Japan’s research nuclear reactor No. 3.

Vietnam took the occasion to introduce the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant project which is currently underway.

Vietnam and Russia are discussing a plan to build a nucleartechnology and research centre in Vietnam , which will help thecountry train qualified experts in nuclear power.

Vietnam has only one research nuclear power reactor, which wasbuilt in Da Lat City in 1960 but stopped working in 1968 and its fuelbars were removed and transferred to the US during 1974-75. Thereactor was restored in 1982 with assistance from the Soviet Union andthe International Atomic Energy Agency and started operating on March20, 1984.

It has served research on nuclear and neutron physics as well as on nuclear applications.-VNA