Document Details
PURL
(2 mb)
Title:
Safety Evaluation for the Plutonium-Power Reactor Experiment
Author(s):
Document Type:
REPORT
Publication Date:
1952 Oct 11
Declassification Date:
1998 Apr 02
Declassification Status:
Declassified
Document Pages:
55 p.
Accession Number:
None
Document Number(s):
NAA-SR-MEMO-414
Originating Research Org.:
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Washington, DC (United States)
OpenNet Entry Date:
2018 Sep 27
OpenNet Modified Date:
2023 Oct 18
Description/Abstract:
The safety aspects of the Plutonium-Rover Reactor Experiment (PPRE) are reviewed in Part I, and those of the proposed site at Santa Susana, California, are reviewed in Part II of this report. It is concluded that the reactor experiment presents no hazard to the surrounding area under the most severe conditions of accident or sabotage which can be assumed. To achieve this degree of safety, a cooling system is recommended in which an intermediate heat exchange fluid is utilized to confine the radioactive sodium reactor coolant circuit and the boiler water circuit to completely separate buildings. This feature as well as others incorporated in the PPRE design are also recommended for the full scale reactor power plant which the PPRE is intended to simulate. This report consolidates NAA-SR-Memo 414 (Preliminary Safety Evaluation) and NAA-SR-Memo 420 (Meteorological Observations). Additional information has also been included. For example, more details are given to describe the results of such incidents as a non-radioactive sodium-water explosion, a failure in the reactor coolant system, and a nuclear runaway.