ML20004A937

Requests Consideration as Assistant to NRC in Reviewing & Evaluating Facility Application,If full-scale Activity Is Resumed

ML20004A937
Person / Time
Site:	Clinch River
Issue date:	04/28/1981
From:	Storrs C ABB COMBUSTION ENGINEERING NUCLEAR FUEL (FORMERLY
To:	Hendrie J NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
Shared Package
ML20004A935	List: ML20004A937
References
NUDOCS 8105270007
Download: ML20004A937 (2)

Text

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Combusbon Engineering. Inc.

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April 28,1981 The Honorable Joseph Hendrie, Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555

Dear Dr. Hendrie:

From reports in the press, it appears likely that Congress and the Administration will soon authorize the resumption of full-scale activity on the Clinch River Breeder Reactor, including licensing. From the same source, it is apparent that those in NRC who had been working on the CRBR license application have been reassigned to other duties, and it may not be easy to replace them. I would like to suggest that Combustion Engineer- -

ing's Advanced Development Department (formerly called Fast Breeder Engineering Development) might be able to assist the NRC in reviewing and evaluating the CRBR application.

Combustion Engineering has had very little to do with the design of the CRER. We did some initial design work on the reactor vessel, but the final design and fabrication were assigned to others. We have a contract to manufacture the Upper Internal Structure on a build-to-print basis.

We do have a small but knowledgeable design and analysis group which has been working on a variety of LMFBR development and analysis tasks since 1963 For instance, as part of the advanced fucis program, we have worked on the conceptual design (never used) of a carbide-fuel core for CRBR, including an analysis of the thermal transients and safety-related consequences of such an installation. We have done generic safety studies comparing a carbide to an oxide core during a Hypothetical Core Disassembly Accident. We are the experimenter for two carbide blanket as s emblies s cheduled for insertion in driver positions in the .

Fast Flux Reactor in an early test cycle, including, of course, a safety evaluation.

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