Radiation Center

Steven R. Reese, Director
100 Radiation Center
Corvallis, OR 97331
(541) 737-2341
http://radiationcenter.oregonstate.edu

 

The Radiation Center is a campus-wide instructional and research facility especially designed to accommodate programs involving the use of radiation and radioactive materials. Located in the center are major items of specialized equipment and unique teaching and research facilities, including a TRIGA-II research nuclear reactor (licensed to operate at 1,100 kilowatts when running at a steady power level and at 2,000 megawatts in the pulsing mode); a cobalt-60 gamma irradiator; a number of gamma radiation spectrometers and associated germanium detectors; a neutron radiography facility capable of taking still or high speed radiographs; and a variety of instruments for radiation measurements and monitoring. Facilities for radiation work include teaching and research laboratories with up-to-date instrumentation and related equipment for performing neutron activation analysis and radiotracer studies; radiochemical separations and analysis; laboratories for animal and plant experiments involving radioactivity; an instrument calibration facility for radiation protection instrumentation; and facilities for packaging radioactive materials for shipment to national and international destinations.

The Radiation Center staff is available to provide a wide variety of services including instruction and/or consultation associated with the feasibility, design, and execution of experiments using radiation and radioactive materials, and with safety evaluations relating to experiments or devices involving the use of radioisotopes or other radiation sources. In addition, the center provides direct support and assistance to teaching and research programs involving nuclear engineering, nuclear and radiation chemistry, radiation health physics, neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography, radiation effects on biological systems, radiation dosimetry, production of short- lived radioisotopes, radiation shielding, nuclear instrumentation, emergency response, transportation of radioactive materials, instrument calibration, and radioactive waste disposal.

The center's laboratories and instruments are available to all campus instructional and research programs requiring such support. The Center also accommodates instructional and nuclear research and development programs requested by other universities, by federal and state agencies, and by industrial organizations. In addition, a special neutron activation analysis service for forensic studies is available to all law enforcement agencies.