Chemical Process Safety at TRISO-Based, Metal-Based, and Salt-Based Fuel Fabrication Facilities Technical Assessment and Guidance Assessment PNNL - PNNL-37404Rev1 NRC - TLR-RES/DE/REB-2025-15

Resource Type
Document
Resource Owner
Federal Agency
Description
As part of efforts to prepare for potential and ongoing safety reviews for licensing of advanced non-light-water reactor fuel cycles, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) tasked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to prepare an assessment on the state of knowledge of potential chemical processes at fuel cycle facilities supporting the front end of these fuel cycles, and to assess the associated regulatory guidance. This report provides a technical assessment of chemical process safety considerations to support NRC licensing reviews of fabrication processes for tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) based, metallic-based, and salt-based fuels. The assessments involved collecting publicly available information on the fuel fabrication processes to (i) identify the operational process steps, characteristics and chemicals involved, (ii) identify the physical safety considerations and health safety considerations during licensing reviews of the various process steps, and (iii) collect information to support assessments of severity of accidents and potential mitigative measures to be implemented. The assessment provides a foundational basis on chemical process safety considerations for advanced fuel fabrication activities, although it is recognized that licensing reviews may necessitate design-specific considerations. Torres RD, Ivans WJ, Short SM, Lumetta GJ, Omberg RP, Thomas KM, and Toyooka MY, et al. Chemical Process Safety at TRISO-Based, Metal-Based, and Salt-Based Fuel Fabrication Facilities: Technical Assessment and Guidance Assessment Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 2025. https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-37404Rev1.pdf
URL
https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/chemical-process-safety-triso-based-metal-based-and-salt-based-fuel-fabrication
Year
2025
Technical Areas
Emerging Topics
Target Audiences
Practitioner Researcher
Search Terms
molten salt reactor, beryllium, beryllium fluoride, micro-modular reactor