Hazards summary memorandum: Savannah River reactors the production of tritium using tubular fuel elements

Abstract

The Savannah River reactors were operated initially for the production of plutonium, and used slug-type natural uranium fuel elements. Recently one reactor was converted to the production of tritium, and other reactors will be converted soon. slug-type elements (of enriched uranium-aluminum) were charged into this reactor in order to reduce to a minimum the development effort required before the shift to tritium was made. It was recognized, however, that the slug elements would be deficient in that they would give a low yield of tritium per atom of uranium-235 destroyed because of the large parasitic capture of neutrons by aluminum. Also the production rate of tritium would be low because of the small amount of surface available for the transfer of the fission heat. Both of these shortcomings will be reduced materially by the substitution of tubular elements for the slugs now employed. The development of this type of element has progressed so that a full reactor loading of tubular fuel elements is contemplated for early 1957. The special hazards related to the production of tritium using tubular fuel elements are described in this memorandum which has been written as a supplement to a report entitled ``Reactor Safety Determination -- more » Savannah River Plant`` (DPW-56-106), one section of which described the hazards associated with the production of tritium from slug elements. « less