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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.
Charles W. Forsberg
Nuclear Technology | Volume 76 | Number 1 | January 1987 | Pages 185-192
Technical Note | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT87-A33909
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Current boiling water reactors (BWRs) use active safety systems comprised of pumps, valves, motors, and diesel generators. These active safety systems (a) are a major cause of controversy in licensing power reactors because of reliability questions, (b) have high capital costs, and (c) require constant maintenance. An advanced BWR concept with passive emergency core cooling systems (PECOS) offers a basic alternative approach to reactor safety. In the PECOS-BWR, passive emergency core cooling is provided for the first 24 h by gravity flow of stored water released through fluidic valves that have no moving parts. Natural-draft air cooling removes heat from the core for longer periods.