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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.
Vishnu B. Subrahmanyam, Dwayne R. Speer
Nuclear Technology | Volume 86 | Number 2 | August 1989 | Pages 207-213
Technical Paper | Decontamination and Decommissioning / Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34272
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Transuranic waste isotope activity of 0.11 TBq (2.93 Ci) was found in 40 replaceable cartridges of a deep-bed fiberglass filter assembly. An investigation was initiated to provide information required for preparation of safety analyses and decommissioning plans. The filter assembly was suspected to contain 4 TBq (100 Ci) of plutonium, based on ambient neutron flux, confirmed by thermoluminescent dosimeters, and quantified by passive activation of indium foils. However, chemical analyses of smear samples are not consistent with this predicted activity. Americium-241, 244Cm, and isotopes of plutonium are identified by chemical separations and alpha energy analysis of dissolved smears. Isotopic composition based on measured relative alpha activities is used to establish the transuranic content. A major fraction of the observed ambient neutron flux is attributable to 244Cm, a nontransuranic radionuclide.