China's low-enriched neutron reactor runs at full capacity

BEIJING: For the first time, China has remodified a miniature neutron-source reactor, with the US help, officials said.

This is the first time China has replaced a traditional high-enriched uranium reactor core with a low-enriched one, Xu Dazhe, head of China Atomic Energy Authority ( CAEA) said.

The reactor, which is now running at full capacity, was a result of China-US nuclear security cooperation. In 2011, the CAEA began working with Argonne National Laboratory, a US Department of Energy Lab, on nuclear safety, Xu said.

Low-enriched uranium cannot be used for an atomic bomb, thus lowering the danger if one's lost or stolen, Xu said.

The reactor will be used for testing nuclear instruments, teaching and training purposes, while producing some isotope, the CAEA said, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.