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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.
Alan S. Icenhour, Louis M. Toth, Robert M. Wham, R. R. Brunson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 146 | Number 2 | May 2004 | Pages 206-209
Technical Note | Nuclear Plant Operations and Control | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3499
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Alpha radiolysis experiments have been performed on NpO2 that contains sorbed moisture. A high dose rate to the sample was achieved by spiking it with ~7000 ppm 244Cm during preparation. Pressure monitoring of sample containers showed that a low, steady-state pressure plateau is reached. This plateau indicates a situation in which the forward reaction (i.e., radiolysis of water) is equal to the back reaction (i.e., the reformation of H2O). In this technical note, a simple kinetic model that can be used for predicting steady-state pressures under practical conditions is described.
