On a hillside just east of Halden town centre, inside a cavern blasted into the rock, Norway operated a nuclear research reactor for 60 years. The Halden Boiling Water Reactor was run by the Institute for Energy Technology and went critical in 1958. It produced 25 megawatts of thermal power and was used for nuclear fuel and safety research, not electricity generation.
The reactor supplied data to nuclear regulators worldwide. Countries including the United States, Japan, and several European nations paid for research conducted here. It was considered a flagship of Norwegian nuclear expertise.
In 2019, an investigation revealed that research data from the reactor had been manipulated. At least five research projects for four international customers were affected, with falsified results stretching back to the period 1995 to 2003. The scandal undermined decades of credibility and raised serious questions about nuclear safety conclusions drawn from the compromised data.
The reactor was permanently shut down in 2018. Decommissioning is expected to take around 50 years and cost an estimated 21 billion kroner. The facility is not open to the public, but it is one of the more remarkable things hiding behind the quiet streets of this small border town.
The reactor supplied data to nuclear regulators worldwide. Countries including the United States, Japan, and several European nations paid for research conducted here. It was considered a flagship of Norwegian nuclear expertise.
In 2019, an investigation revealed that research data from the reactor had been manipulated. At least five research projects for four international customers were affected, with falsified results stretching back to the period 1995 to 2003. The scandal undermined decades of credibility and raised serious questions about nuclear safety conclusions drawn from the compromised data.
The reactor was permanently shut down in 2018. Decommissioning is expected to take around 50 years and cost an estimated 21 billion kroner. The facility is not open to the public, but it is one of the more remarkable things hiding behind the quiet streets of this small border town.