Hazards Summary Report for the GCRE Critical-assembly Experiments

Book excerpt: Critical experiments are described, and the hazards attendant to these experiments are evaluated for a gascooled water-moderated reactor design. Shutdown control of the critical assembly is achieved by cadmium control blades and by dumping the water into a storage tank. The maximum normal rats of reactivity addition is limited to an estimated 0.04 per cent per sec for all remotely controlled operations. The system is interlocked to insure that safe operational procedures are followed, Hazard calculations are made to determine the dosage from direct radiation, fall-out, and inhalation from a radioactive cloud resulting from an accident. The exclusion area is shown to be adequate for even the maximum hypothetical accident. (auth).