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NRC proposed rule for licensing reactors authorized by DOE, DOD
Nuclear reactor designs approved by the Department of Energy or Department of Defense could get streamlined pathways through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s commercial licensing process should applicants wish to push the technology into the civilian sector.
A proposed rule introduced April 2 by the NRC would “improve NRC licensing review efficiency, where applicable, by explicitly establishing by regulation an additional means for reactor applicants to demonstrate the safety functions of their reactor designs, and thus, would contribute to the safe and secure use and deployment of civilian nuclear energy technologies.”
Anna-Elina Pasi, Mark R. St.-J. Foreman, Christian Ekberg
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 11 | November 2022 | Pages 1734-1744
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2061258
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The interactions between tellurium and organic material during a nuclear reactor accident are critical to source term estimations because of the possible formation of volatile species. Reactions taking place in the containment sump are of interest since these can lead to re-volatilization and increase the fission product source term. This paper presents results from experiments investigating the interaction of tellurium dioxide with three paint solvents—texanol ester, methyl isobutyl ketone, and toluene—under containment sump conditions. The experiments were performed by irradiating a mixed solution of tellurium dioxide and paint solvents at a dose rate of 4 kGy/h up to 300 kGy. The resulting samples were analyzed for tellurium concentration and speciation. Tellurium(IV) was found to reduce to metallic tellurium under irradiation when paint solvents were present. More importantly, several volatile organic tellurides were identified in the irradiated samples, which suggests that tellurium can form volatile species in sump conditions when in contact with dissolved paint solvents. This paper provides novel evidence of organic telluride formation in the sump and raises further interest in tellurium chemistry during a severe nuclear reactor accident.