Radioactive Material Control at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station

Abstract

The nation's first large scale nuclear power station at Shippingport, Pa., is located in a populous area and considerable engineering effort was needed to design a system for disposal of its radioactive wastes. The power source, of course, is heat generated by nuclear fission in the reactor core, which is continuously removed by recirculating pressurized water, called reactor coolant.Although this water is of high purity, inhibitors are added to reduce corrosion and all surfaces in contact with the water are constructed of highly corrosionresistant stainless steels. Nevertheless, corrosion to the extent of about 10 mg. per sq. dm. per month does occur.Within a conventional power plant, this would be insignificant. However, in a reactor plant, these minute impurities can become activated in passing through the reactor core and constitute the source of induced radioactivity. Also, despite rigid inspections and controlled techniques in manufacturing, a small percentage of fuel elements in the core might possibly develop small holes and release fission products into the coolant. Factors such as maintenance of equipment, normal shutdown, and safety valve discharges require that contaminated coolant be drained and disposed of at the plant site.