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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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No impact from Savannah River radioactive wasps
The news is abuzz with recent news stories about four radioactive wasp nests found at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The site has been undergoing cleanup operations since the 1990s related to the production of plutonium and tritium for defense purposes during the Cold War. Cleanup activities are expected to continue into the 2060s.
Takanobu Kamei, Mitsuaki Yamaoka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 97 | Number 3 | March 1992 | Pages 264-271
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34634
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new core concept with a negative sodium void reactivity coefficient has evolved. The core is composed of two core layers in the axial direction. The core layers are separated by an internal blanket, the central region of which comprises a neutron-absorbing material such as boron carbide or tantalum. Consequently, the two core layers are completely decoupled as regards neutronics, leading to an effective increase in neutron leakage from the core region when sodium is voided. This design is expected to be free from the disadvantages of a large core radius, as seen in a conventional spoiled core such as a pancake core. The design is described in detail, and its application to a 300-MW(electric) metal fuel core and to a 450-MW(electric) minor actinide burner core is given as an example.