This is the first time China has replaced a traditional high-enriched uranium reactor core with a low-enriched one, Xu Dazhe, head of China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) said.
The reactor, which is now running at full capacity, was a result of China-US nuclear security cooperation. In 2011, the CAEA began working with Argonne National Laboratory, a US Department of Energy Lab, on nuclear safety, Xu said.
Low-enriched uranium cannot be used for an atomic bomb, thus lowering the danger if one's lost or stolen, Xu said.