Speaker
Description
The Argentine Neutron Beam Laboratory (LAHN), currently under development at the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), will provide the national and regional scientific community with access to neutron scattering techniques for research in materials science, engineering, biology, and several other disciplines. A key element for developing the initial instrument suite has been the transfer of neutron instruments and infrastructure components from leading European neutron facilities through international cooperation agreements.
The opportunity for these transfers emerged largely following the shutdown of the BER II research reactor at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) on December 2019, which triggered a broader process within the international neutron-science community to reallocate and preserve valuable instrumentation and infrastructure for continued scientific use. Within this context, LAHN identified a unique opportunity to accelerate the development of its future instrument suite through the reuse of proven equipment from established facilities.
The transferred equipment includes a neutron reflectometer, a Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) multipurpose instrument, and part of the neutron guide system donated by HZB (Germany), as well as a SANS instrument dedicated to soft matter research donated by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, Switzerland). These transfers involved the relocation of large-scale scientific assets, requiring close coordination among research institutions, governmental agencies, customs authorities, logistics providers, and technical specialists in multiple countries.
This presentation reviews the complete transfer process, including instrument assessment and selection, negotiation of donation agreements, preparation for decommissioning and dismantling, export and import procedures, transportation logistics, and final reception in Argentina. Particular attention is given to challenges related to regulatory and administrative requirements associated with the international movement of irradiated equipment, as well as those encountered during customs clearance, documentation management, and cross-border transport.
The experience generated several valuable lessons regarding planning, stakeholder engagement, regulatory coordination, risk mitigation, and the preservation of technical knowledge associated with transferred instruments. These lessons may be relevant for other facilities facing similar opportunities to relocate scientific infrastructure and maximize the long-term value of existing neutron instrumentation.
Key Words
SANS, NR, neutron guides, reutiliztion, LAHN, cooperation
| Other | Project Management and International Liaison |
|---|