Name: IRT-5000 Research Reactor 
Address/Location: Building 13
Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Primary Function: Research

Technical Specifications:[1]

Description:
The Russian-supplied IRT-5000 was originally an IRT-2000, but then upgraded and designed to operate using uranium fuel enriched to 10%, 36%, and finally 80% uranium-235.[6] The reactor was primarily used on a small scale for medical and other civilian applications.[7]

In 1989-90, the IRT-5000 was used for the irradiation of fuel elements that were produced in Tuwaitha's Experimental Reactor Fuel Fabrication Laboratory (ERFFL).[8] Between February and April 1989, Iraq irradiated one element for 22 days over seven weeks in IRT-5000 and separated 0.5g of plutonium. Between September 1989 and January 1990, two elements were irradiated for 50 days, and separation of 2.2g of plutonium was achieved. Between mid-September 1990 and the first week of November 1990, Iraq irradiated two more fuel elements for 37 days.

The building that housed the IRT-5000 was severely damaged during coalition air strikes, but its pool and storage racks were still intact.[9] No damage to the fuel was detected.[10]

Key Sources:
[1] "Iraq," 2002 World Nuclear Industry Handbook (Nuclear Engineering International, 2002); and "Iraq," Research Reactors Database, IAEA, updated 1991/03/15, <http://www.iaea.org>. Unless specified, all data is from two sources above.
[2] Jed C. Snyder, "The Road to Osiraq: Baghdad's Quest for the Bomb," The Middle East Journal, Vol. 37, No. 4, Autumn 1983, p. 565.
[3] Ibid.
[4] IAEA, Nuclear Research Reactors in the World (IAEA, August 1987), p. 91.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Mark Hibbs, "IAEA Will Not Step Up Inspections in Iraq," Nucleonics Week, 9 August 1990, pp. 2-4.
[7] Jed C. Snyder.
[8] Report on the Fourth IAEA On-Site Inspection in Iraq under Security Council Resolution 687 (1991), UN Doc S/22986, 28 August 1991, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/
reports/S_22986.pdf>.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.

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Name: Tammuz-1
Other Names: Osirak, Osiraq[11]
Address/Location: Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: n/a
Primary Function:

Technical Specifications:[12]

Description:
In 1976, France and Iraq signed an agreement for France to construct the Tammuz-1 reactor at Al-Tuwaitha. The foundation for Tammuz-1 was completed between 1976 and 1979, and construction of the reactor began in 1979.[17] In March 1980, under the re-negotiated agreement France supplied Iraq with HEU in stages, with the first (and only) shipment of 12.5kg of HEU arriving in Iraq in July 1980.[18]

On 30 September 1980, at the onset of the Iraq-Iran War, Iranian aircraft bombed the Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center, where the Tammuz-1 reactor was still under construction and was thought to be three months away from completion.[19] The attack delayed the progress of construction significantly.

On 6-7 June 1981, Israeli aircraft bombed and destroyed the Tammuz-1 reactor shortly before loading of fuel was to commence.[20] Construction of the reactor was never restarted.

Key Sources:
[11] Osiraq is a combination of the name of the French reactor, Osiris, which Osiraq is modeled on, and the name of the country, Iraq.
[12] Tammuz-1 was modeled on French Osiris. The following technical data is for Osiris reactor. "Osiris Reactor," Directory of Nuclear Reactors, Vol. VI, (IAEA, 1966), p. 97.
[13] Jed C. Snyder, "The Road to Osiraq: Baghdad's Quest for the Bomb," The Middle East Journal, Vol. 37, No. 4, Autumn 1983, p. 578.
[14] Yair Evron, Israel's Nuclear Dilemma, (Cornell University Press, 1994), p. 26.
[15] There is disagreement in open literature with respect to power capacity of Tammuz-1. French officials stated that the rated capacity of Tammuz-1 was 70 MW, although its "nominal operating capacity" was 40 MW. (Jed C. Snyder, "The Road to Osiraq: Baghdad's Quest for the Bomb," The Middle East Journal, Vol. 37, No. 4, Autumn 1983, p. 570).
[16] Jed C. Snyder, "The Road to Osiraq: Baghdad's Quest for the Bomb," The Middle East Journal, Vol. 37, No. 4, Autumn 1983, p. 569.
[17] Yair Evron, Israel's Nuclear Dilemma, (Cornell University Press, 1994), p. 26.
[18] Leonard S. Spector, Nuclear Proliferation Today (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1984), p. 169.
[19] Jed C. Snyder, "The Road to Osiraq: Baghdad's Quest for the Bomb," The Middle East Journal, Vol. 37, No. 4, Autumn 1983, p. 580.
[20] Ibid., p. 578.

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Name: Tammuz-2 Zero Power Reactor
Other Names: Tamuz
Address/Location: Building 24
Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Primary Function: Research

Technical Specifications:[21]

Description:
France supplied the Tammuz-2 reactor to Iraq as part of a 1976 bilateral agreement.[27] The facility was heavily damaged during coalition air strikes.[28]

Key Sources:
[21] "Iraq," 2002 World Nuclear Industry Handbook (Nuclear Engineering International, 2002); and "Iraq," Research Reactors Database, IAEA, updated 1991/03/15, <http://www.iaea.org>. Unless specified, all data is from this source.
[22] Tammuz-2 reactor was modeled on the French Isis reactor (which, in turn is a sister model of the larger Osiris reactor). The following technical data is for Isis reactor. "Isis Reactor," Directory of Nuclear Reactors, Vol. VIII, (IAEA, 1970), p. 55.
[23] "Isis Reactor," Directory of Nuclear Reactors, Vol. VIII, (IAEA, 1970), p. 55.
[24] There is some disagreement in open literature, regarding the power of this reactor, which is sometimes mentioned to be 800 kW. See Jed C. Snyder, "The Road to Osiraq: Baghdad's Quest for the Bomb," The Middle East Journal, Vol. 37, No. 4, Autumn 1983, p. 569, and Joseph Cirincione, "Iraq: Nuclear Infrastructure," The Three Hard Cases (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace [CEIP], 2002), p. 288.
[25] IAEA, Nuclear Research Reactors in the World (IAEA, August 1987), p. 77.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Yair Evron, Israel's Nuclear Dilemma (Cornell University Press, 1994), p. 26.
[28] Consolidated Report on the First Two IAEA Inspections Under Security Council Resolution 687 (1991) of Iraqi Nuclear Capabilities, UN Doc S/22788, 11 July 1991, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/
reports/S_22788.pdf>.

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	Updated December 2003