Spray Program at the Nuclear Safety Pilot Plant

Abstract

The spray program conducted at the Nuclear Safety Pilot Plant in 1967–1970 is summarized. Sprays have been proposed as a means for removing fission products from reactor containment building atmospheres following a loss-of-coolant accident. The problem was dealt with in three parts: removal of elemental iodine, removal of organic iodides, and removal of particles. Thirty iodine removal experiments were performed using borax, borax plus thiosulfate, and boric acid. Both borax and borax-thiosulfate were highly effective in removing elemental iodine. Boric acid is much more effective than expected. Fifteen methyl iodide removal experiments were performed. Only borax-thiosulfate at elevated temperatures removed methyl iodide at a significant rate. Extrapolation of the data to a large PWR indicates the dose reduction factor would be 1.1 for the flow, drop size, and reagent concentration normally specified. This can be improved by increasing flow and/or concentration or by reducing drop size. Fifteen particle r...