International MNSR Training Center for Operator Training for MNSR HEU Core Discharge and Packaging

The International MNSR Training Center (IMTC) was built in 2017 at the Ghana MNSR (GHARR-1) site for training operators from the MNSR reactors to offload the core and package the irradiated fuel for transportation. The IMTF was fully used in preparations for HEU removal from Nigerian NIRR-1 research reactor. The training program was developed based on the experiences gained from nearly 70 international shipments including GHARR-1 HEU core removal. The main goal of the training at IMTC for the Nigerian removal was to properly train NIRR-1 staff to independently carry out the entire loading and packaging operation in one day. Based on this training program the NIRR-1 training was carried out at the IMTC from March until August 2018 in three training campaigns plus one dry run demonstration. The HEU repatriation from Nigeria to China was successfully accomplished in December 2018. This paper presents the IMTC, the training program and training materials, and introduces the courses of the implemented training campaigns and summarizes lessons learned.