United States · Plainsboro, NJ · 40.337, -74.587 (approximate location)

IRL

IRL, a research reactor (pool) in Plainsboro, NJ, United States, with 5 MW of thermal power, operated by Industrial Reactor Laboratories. Decommissioned, first critical in 1958.

It was one of the 340 research reactors the United States has had; 48 remain in operation today. It went critical 16 years after the first research reactor in the United States, CP-1, Chicago Pile 1 (1942). 48 pool-type reactors remain in operation today across 28 countries. Its declared uses include isotope production and materials testing.

Country

United States

City

Plainsboro, NJ

Type

Pool

Thermal power

5 MW

Operator

Industrial Reactor Laboratories

Status

Decommissioned

First criticality

1958

Purpose

Isotope production, materials testing

See also: every research reactor in United States · How research reactors work