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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.
Chun-Chang Chao, Chi Ta Chen, Min Lee
Nuclear Technology | Volume 111 | Number 1 | July 1995 | Pages 23-33
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT95-A35141
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The core damage frequency caused by loss of residual heat removal (RHR) events was assessed during midloop operation of a Westinghouse-designed threeloop pressurized water reactor. The assessment considers two types of outages (refueling and drained maintenance) and uses failure data collected specifically for shutdown condition. Event trees were developed for five categories of loss of RHR events. Human actions to mitigate the loss of RHR events were identified and human error probabilities were quantified using the human cognitive reliability (HCR) and the technique for human error rate prediction (THERP) models. The results showed that the core damage frequency caused by loss of RHR events during midloop operation was 3.4 x 10-5 per year. The results also showed that the core damage frequency can be reduced significantly by removing a pressurizer safety valve before entering midloop operation. The establishment of reflux cooling, i.e., decay heat removal through the steam generator secondary side, also plays an important role in mitigating the loss of RHR events during midloop operation.