STRICKLER (KFSM) — The University of Arkansas held public tours Thursday (Jan. 19) of its Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) that sits on a plot of land in Strickler.
The reactor was operational from 1969 to 1972 and was gifted to the U of A a few years later after the fuel and irradiated sodium coolant were removed and taken off site. The reactor had been used to conduct several experiments and decommissioning began after the original program was completed.
The reactor was a joint project between Southwest Atomic Energy Associates, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, General Electric and the west German government.
Last year, the U of A announced it received $10.5 million from the Department of Energy to dismantle SEFOR completely. EnergySolutions is performing phase two of the decommissioning project.
The university’s goal is to return the property to a field.
