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Oklo breaks ground on its first nuclear ‘powerhouse’ at INL (Idaho National Laboratory)
(www.power-eng.com)
this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2025
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I got to peek inside the decommissioned SL1 building where a fatal reactor incident happened. They still scoop up bits of fuel from ant mounds in the vicinity because the fuel pellets happen to be the size of particles ants prefer in their mounds. Did a few seasons of ecological surveys on the INL and it is a wacky place.
Not surprised! Would like to learn more about what's become of it.
The INL itself is still an active nuclear research facility. The SL-1 building is just a big sheet metal shed, mostly empty now and far away from any current activity, except sheep grazing.
INL was founded as a peacetime ’sister’ to Hanford, where weapons-grade material is made. For instance, there is a surgical suite with an active reactor for boron-neutron capture therapy of certain cancers. In one form of that therapy, they remove the top of the skull and expose the brain directly to the neutron source.
Yeah, it’s a wild place.