Benjie Sanders / ARIZONA DAILY STAR 1972 When it's time to refuel a nuclear reactor, one wants to be especially careful and deliberate. That could be why Monte V. Davis, head of the University of Arizona nuclear reactor lab, was on the scaffold directing the delicate operation on Nov. 27, 1972. It was the first time the reactor had been refueled since it went into operation 14 years earlier. The reactor, housed in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, was undergoing a major overhaul, in addition to getting the new rods. When completed, the reactor would have 87 fuel elements, up from the previous 67 elements. The overhaul project would cost $60,000. It would put the UA among the top 10 universities in the nation with an advanced reactor used for teaching and research. The spent fuel and some of the original equipment was to be shipped to the University of Utah for use in its nuclear program.
Tucson Time Capsule is a daily feature, a photographic record of Tucson as it was. If you have a memory of an event to share, please go to go.azstarnet.com/ timecapsule, where you can find all of the time capsule photos. You can also add your own historical Tucson photos to the collection. Please observe copyright laws.
Historic bank vault now new Tucson speakeasy
