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may be 0.1% to 0.01%.
steam.)
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(Volatile fission products would of course go with the
It is anticipated that deposits may be most severe in the condensers,
continue at Arco with a new reactor which will replace the original Borax.
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While the Boiling Reactor at Argonne is being designed, experiments will
This will allow "power excursions" in a stainless steel vessel which will ve
;
equipped for continuous operation at 300 lbs pressure and up to 6000 kw of
heat and will have a water purification system.
The program is exploratory
and should contribute to the development of instrumentation, knowledge on the
radioactivity of the steam, and other questions which affect the Argorme
design.
While it was intended to place this reactor in the Borax tank, con-
tamination from the July "test-to-destruction" has required a new site at Arco
and has probably somewhat delayed the schedule.
Argonne recognizes that heavy water may be preferable in a Boiling Reactor..
It allows a more relaxed core design, reduces fuel inventory and reduces’or
Coeeee“everelananates-the need for fuel enrichment.
The paramount question is
whether the loss of heavy water can be kept within bounds.
Some power engi-
neers believe that this can be done without much increase in the power equip-
ment cost, e.g. Allis-Chalmers estimates $200,000 extra on the turbines and
condensers.
Experience with the Boiling Reactor at Argonne should be pertinent.
In this connection, we feel that the costs of heavy water which are assumed
in comparing potential heavy water and light water reactors are unrealistically
high and tend to distort the comparison and invalidate the conclusions.
The Subcommittee members discussed with the Argonne leaders how the
Boiling Reactor program might best be further accelerated.
The present
“schedule for the reactor at Argonne » outlined below, seems very tight to us,
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