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NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Joseph F. Pilat
Nuclear Technology | Volume 179 | Number 1 | July 2012 | Pages 52-60
Technical Paper | Special Issue on Safeguards / Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT179-52
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Working Group has developed a methodology with which to evaluate the proliferation resistance and physical protection (PR&PP) robustness of nuclear energy systems. For such nuclear systems, there is a need to evaluate designs that are not fully developed, technology issues from fuels to fuel cycles that are not yet determined, and safeguards, security, and other measures that are not yet decided. To that end, this paper proposes use of formal expert elicitation in conjunction with the PR&PP methodology. This combination would provide a systematic and transparent qualitative analysis of proliferation resistance and physical protection and also would contribute to the development of credible input for quantitative analyses. The outcome would be valuable for internal planning purposes for nuclear designers, safeguards experts, and technical and policy stakeholders involved in the development of Generation IV nuclear energy systems.