[Photos] Inside Vietnam's Only Nuclear Reactor

Vietnam has operated a nuclear reactor on-and-off since 1963 when the Americans helped create the Da lat Nuclear Research Institute. There, a General Atomics-built TRIGA-Mark II reactor was installed and operated until the outbreak of the American War when it was dismantled.

Following reunification, the government founded the Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission (VAEC) to explore the use of nuclear materials for socioeconomic development. In 1980, with the help of the Soviet Union the reactor was rebuilt and upgraded.

Though the facility's highly enriched uranium stockpile was removed in 2013, it is still used for medical research and experimental industrial, reports VnExpress.  

The control room.

The reactor consist of 2 levels.

The first level contains fuel, a radioactive meter and other supporting systems.

Heat exchanger.

Sealed reactor door.

Objects and caution signs.

Layout of the plant.

Ventialtion pipes.

Uniform of an employee.