More than 1000 days of standstill: research reactor still out of order - state government gives reason

Created: 12/16/2022, 9:18 am

By: Max Wochinger

Out of service for 1000 days: TUM is waiting for a spare part for its research reactor.

© Peter Kneffel/dpa

The research reactor in Garching has been out of service for 1000 days.

Now it is also known why.

Garching – The research reactor in Garching has been out of service for 1000 days.

The core technology of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) was last used in March 2020.

The future of the FRM II is still up in the air, according to a question from the Greens in the state parliament.

Claudia Köhler, member of the state parliament for the Greens from Unterhaching, had asked the state government about the planned resumption of operations in the research reactor on the TUM campus in Garching.

The answer from the State Ministry for Science and Art is now available: It is not expected to be operational again until the beginning of 2024. According to the Ministry of Science, the problem is a missing spare part that is subject to the highest safety requirements.

The spare part for the so-called central duct had been ordered, only the production turned out to be "correspondingly complex".

The production takes place in numerous individual steps with the participation of experts.

The Ministry of Science is headed by Markus Blume (CSU).

TUM adorns itself with “very old or foreign feathers”

The Green member of the state parliament, Markus Büchler from Oberschleißheim, now called for “an honest information policy” from TUM.

"Every month, the press office publishes a success story about the scientific work of the TU Munich with neutrons, although no neutrons have been produced for more than two and a half years." The TUM adorns itself with "very old or foreign feathers".

Büchler demanded a clear description of the problems from the TUM.

In fact, there have been several incidents with the reactor in recent years: In March 2020, radioactive gas escaped because an operator error occurred when cleaning the water in the reactor pool and binding the radioactive substance C-14.

Last year, a defect in the neutron cooling system prevented continued operation.

She had to be replaced.

And now the spare part for the central channel is missing.

Before the pandemic, around 1000 researchers used the neutrons produced here for experiments - it will be at least another 13 months before this happens again.

More news from Garching and the district of Munich can be found here.