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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.
Thiagarajan Gnanasekaran, Kandhalu Hari Mahendran, Raghavachary Sridharan, Vedaraman Ganesan, Govindaswami Periaswami, Cherian K. Mathews
Nuclear Technology | Volume 90 | Number 3 | June 1990 | Pages 408-416
Technical Paper | RELAP/MOD2 / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34404
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An electrochemical hydrogen meter using a CaCl2-CaH2 electrolyte and a Li-LiH reference electrode was constructed and used to monitor dissolved hydrogen in liquid sodium. These meters have been tested in bench-top sodium loops equipped with cold traps for controlling hydrogen levels in sodium. The experimental results showed that the meters yield nearly theoretical outputs down to the lowest hydrogen levels that were achievable in these loops (∼ 50 ppb). The sensitivity of the meters for changes in hydrogen concentrations is adequate for use in the sodium circuits of a fast reactor to detect leaks of hydrogen bearing extraneous materials into sodium. These meters, along with a gas chromatograph, were also used to study the reaction of hydrocarbon oil with liquid sodium. The experimental results showed that for detecting oil leaks into sodium these meters provide a simpler alternative to monitoring of methane in the cover gas using a gas chromatograph.