American Nuclear Society
Home

Home / Public Information / News

ANS Declares INL's TREAT Reactor a Historic Landmark

The American Nuclear Society (ANS) presented the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Transient Test Reactor (TREAT) with the ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark Award for the dynamic and groundbreaking research it has performed in testing nuclear fuels and materials under accident conditions. The presentation was made March 4, 2019 at the INL facility in Idaho Falls.          

Upon presenting the award ANS President John Kelly said, “The significant work that has taken place at TREAT aligns with the mission of the American Nuclear Society; to advocate for the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology to improve people's lives. The U.S. is fortunate to have one of the few transient facilities in the world where the testing performed by TREAT has supported the licensing of modern zirconium alloys, development and qualification of Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) designs, and validation of fuel response to updated design basis accidents for new SMR designs.” 

Transient testing is an essential component of domestic and international efforts to develop robust, safe nuclear fuels, as well as to bring innovative reactor technologies to the market. The results are critical for development and validation of robust fuel designs and the fuel safety criteria that define their operational envelope. In addition, TREAT has contributed to our country’s renewed leadership in the essential nuclear research field so that new and existing reactors can provide base load and load following electrical power without harmful emissions.

“The timely return of transient testing capability to our nuclear energy research portfolio will provide United States leadership in the development of advanced nuclear technologies. This achievement is a testament to the hard work of the professionals at the Idaho National Laboratory, the vision of the Department of Energy to preserve this national asset, and the engineering genius of the original designers from Argonne National Laboratory,” said TREAT Division Director David J. Broussard.

As advanced technologies continue to be developed, TREAT will be vitally important in providing a unique test bed for advanced fuel concepts early in the development and licensing processes by emulating the reactor accident environments and coolant response for a variety of reactors including liquid metal, molten salt, and gas-cooled.

The American Nuclear Society established the National Historic Landmark Award 33 years ago to commemorate nuclear facilities that have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments which were instrumental in the advancement and implementation of nuclear technology and the peaceful use of nuclear science.

Visit ans.org for a full listing of ANS Historic Landmark sites.

TREAT Division Director David J. Broussard accepts the ANS Historic Landmark 
Award from ANS President John Kelly on March 4, 2019.

The Transient Test Reactor (TREAT), one of the few transient facilities in the world, 
located at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. 



Media Contact:
Outreach Department|708-579-8224