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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.
Bernard R. Bandini, Anthony J. Baratta
Nuclear Technology | Volume 87 | Number 4 | December 1989 | Pages 926-931
Technical Paper | TMI-2: Decontamination and Waste Management / Criticality Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A27686
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Knowledge of the effective multiplication factor (keff) of variously configured damaged fuel at Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) has greatly affected ongoing defueling operations. A recent DOT 4.3 discrete ordinates analysis has extended prior postaccident analyses of keff to “best-estimate”predictions of criticality at several crucial periods during the progression of the accident. Results from the current analysis show that the TMI-2 fuel was most likely in a highly subcritical configuration at all times during the accident. In addition, conservative calculations have shown that during the crucial initial coolant boiloff period of the accident, the conditions necessary for criticality are extremely unlikely.