Lucens reactor
| Lucens reactor | |
|---|---|
Control room of the Lucens reactor in April 1968 | |
| Official name | Versuchsatomkraftwerk Lucens |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Location | Lucens, Vaud |
| Coordinates | 46°41′34.16″N 6°49′36.81″E / 46.6928222°N 6.8268917°E |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Construction began | 1 April 1962 |
| Commission date | 10 May 1968 |
| Decommission date | 3 March 1969 |
| Owner | Nationale Gesellschaft zur Förderung der industriellen Atomtechnik |
| Operator | Energie Ouest Suisse |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | HWGCR |
| Reactor supplier | Thermatom |
| Cooling source | Carbon dioxide |
| Power generation | |
| Units decommissioned | 1 x 6 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 6 MW |
| External links | |
| Website | www |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
Suffered a nuclear accident on 21 January 1969, leading to a partial core meltdown and massive radioactive contamination | |
The Lucens reactor was a 6 MW experimental nuclear power reactor built next to Lucens, Vaud, Switzerland. After its connection to the electrical grid on 29 January 1968, the reactor only operated for a year before it suffered an accident on 21 January 1969. The cause was a corrosion-induced loss of heat dispersal leading to the destruction of a pressure tube which caused an adjacent pressure tube to fail, and partial meltdown of the core, resulting in radioactive contamination of the cavern.