- GLEEP
GLEEP, which stood for Graphite Low Energy Experimental Pile, was a long-lived experimental British
nuclear reactor . Run for the first time onAugust 15 1947 , it was the first reactor to operate inWestern Europe .It was built at the
Atomic Energy Research Establishment , a formerRoyal Air Force airfield , nearHarwell, Oxfordshire in anaircraft hangar . It was agraphite moderated, air cooled reactor and used 11,500 natural uranium fuelaluminium -clad rods inserted into 676 horizontal fuel channels. With a normal power output of just 3kilowatt s, it was initially used for investigations into reactor design and operation, and later for the calibration of instruments for measuringneutron flux.It had an exceptionally long life for a reactor of 43 years, being shut down in
1990 . The fuel was removed in1994 and thecontrol rod s and external equipment the following year. A project to completely dismantle it was started in2003 and completed in October2004 .ee also
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List of nuclear reactors External links
* [http://www.ukaea.org.uk/downloads/misc/GLEEP.pdf Decomissioning GLEEP]
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