Argonne National Lab (ANL)
Argonne, IL
Reactor Data
Research Reactors
Research and test reactors, critical assemblies and prototypes at this site, as listed in the IAEA Research Reactor Database: type, thermal power, first criticality, shutdown date, current status and what each is used for.
10 reactors: 10 decommissioned.
| Reactor | Type | Thermal Power | First Criticality | Shutdown | Status | Used For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CP-2 Chicago Pile 2 | Graphite Pile | 2 kWt | 1943-01-01 | Decommissioned | nuclear data | |
| CP-3 Chicago Pile 3 | Heavy Water | 3 kWt | 1944-05-01 | Decommissioned | ||
| CP-5 Chicago Pile | Heavy Water | 5 MWt | 1954-02-01 | 1979-09-01 | Decommissioned | materials testing, training |
| EBWR | Bwr | 1 MWt | 1956-12-03 | 1967-07-01 | Decommissioned | |
| ZPR-7 Argonne | Crit Assembly | 10 Wt | 1957-07-03 | Decommissioned | materials testing | |
| ATSR Argonne Thermal Source | Pool | 1 kWt | 1960-01-01 | Decommissioned | ||
| Juggernaut | Argonaut | 25 kWt | 1962-01-11 | Decommissioned | materials testing, nuclear data | |
| ZPR-6 Argonne | Crit Assembly | 1 Wt | 1963-07-01 | Decommissioned | nuclear data | |
| ZPR-9 Argonne | Crit Fast | 1 Wt | 1964-01-01 | Decommissioned | nuclear data | |
| Janus | Tank | 2 kWt | 1964-08-03 | Decommissioned | materials testing |
Source: IAEA Research Reactor Database (RRDB), as of 2026-10-13.
Fuel Cycle Facilities
Fuel cycle plants at this site, as listed in the IAEA Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities Database: what each plant does, its scale and design capacity, the years it operated, its current status and who operates it.
2 facilities: 2 decommissioned.
| Facility | Type | Scale | Design Capacity | Operated | Status | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plutonium Fabrication Facility (Building 350) | MOX fuel fabrication (Mox Powder, Pellet, Pin, FA) | Pilot plant | 0 t HM/year | 1959–1973 | Decommissioned | Argonne National Laboratory |
| B212 Plutonium Glovebox | MOX fuel fabrication (Mox Powder, Pellet, Pin, FA) | Laboratory | 0 t HM/year | 1960–1990 | Decommissioned | Argonne National Laboratory |
Source: IAEA Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities Database (NFCFDB), as of 2026-10-13.
Working Here
Jobs in IL 140 active
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Per Diem Rates FY 2027
Per diem covers lodging and meals & incidental expenses (M&IE) for government and contractor travel near this facility. Rates are from GSA for FY 2027. Lodging rates vary by month — click "Show Monthly" to see the breakdown.
$232
Lodging/Night
$148–$238 range
$92
M&IE/Day
$324
Total/Day
Chicago, Cook / Lake County, IL
Unemployment Benefits IL
Maximum state unemployment insurance benefits for IL. Actual benefits depend on your earnings history and may be lower than the maximum. Data as of Jan 2026.
$859
Max Weekly
26
Max Weeks
$22,334
Max Total
7-day waiting period before benefits begin
Photos
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Facility Map
Interactive satellite map showing the facility's geographic location. Marker color indicates current status: green for online, red for offline, orange for reduced power. Click the header to open in Google Maps satellite view.
41.709, -87.9836
Location & Contact
Physical address, phone number, and website for this facility. Use the directions link to get driving directions via Google Maps.
NukeWorker Member Ratings 6 votes
Community ratings from NukeWorker members. Vote to share your experience working at this facility. Score uses a Bayesian average that accounts for vote count — facilities with few votes are pulled toward the fleet average, so rankings reflect confidence, not just raw percentages.
Above Average
1 (16%)
Average
3 (50%)
Below Average
2 (33%)
Plant Facts
About This Site
Written by NukeWorker from public records: facts that do not change. Operator, status and capacity come from the live data elsewhere on this page. Sources: Wikipedia: Argonne National Laboratory.
Argonne National Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy research laboratory in Downers Grove Township, DuPage County, Illinois, with a Lemont mailing address. It was developed on land in the Argonne Forest, a forest preserve outside Chicago.
Read more
The laboratory traces back to the Metallurgical Laboratory, set up at the University of Chicago in 1942 as part of the Manhattan Project, where Chicago Pile-1 was built. The pile was rebuilt in 1943 as Chicago Pile-2 in the Argonne Forest, and the site was chartered as Argonne National Laboratory in 1946. In 1951 an Argonne reactor in Idaho, Experimental Breeder Reactor I, lit four light bulbs with the first electricity produced by nuclear fission.