A STUDY OF REACTOR HAZARDS

Technical Report · Thu Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1949

OSTI ID:4351480

Mills, M M

A major public hazard associated with any nuclear reactor is ihe possible contamination of the atmosphere or water supply by the accidental release of the radioactive products of reactor operation. This problem can be considered in two stages; namely, (l) the technological sequence of events leading to the hazardous release of radioactive products from the reactor, and (2) the distribution of such released products by meteorological and hydrological mechanisms. This report considers the first problem and contains detailed technical analysis of the sequence of events leading to thc destructive runaway of the reactor following the release of a large amount of excess reactivity. The results of the study of a number of existing reactors indicates that the mechanical violence associated with reaeior runaway is not very great and that the chemical reactions and similar secondary reactions are usually a more serious source of disruptive energy than the runaway nuclear reaction. In practically every case it appears that the end result of a reactor runaway is the gradual (non-explosive) release of volatilized substances containing radioactive products, and the quantity so released is usually small enough to be contained within an adequately sealed building. The elements of design which can significantly increase the safety of any reactor are discussed. In particular the parameters leading to large, negative, transient temperature and power coefficients are

• Research Organization: North American Aviation, Inc., Los Angeles
• DOE Contract Number: AT(11-1)-GEN-8
• NSA Number: NSA-12-002123
• OSTI ID: 4351480
• Report Number(s): NAA-SR-31(Del.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ACCIDENTS
ATMOSPHERE
BUILDINGS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONTAMINATION
DISTRIBUTION
EXCURSIONS
FISSION PRODUCTS
HYDROLOGY
MECHANICS
METEOROLOGY
PHYSICS
PLANNING
REACTIVITY
REACTOR SAFETY
REACTORS
SEALS
TEMPERATURE
TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT
TRANSIENTS
VOLATILITY
WATER