Commercial Light Water Production of Tritium: Update and Path Forward

摘要

In 1996 and 1997, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory designed and fabricated the first 32 Tritium Producing Burnable Absorber Rods (TPBAR) for irradiation in a commercial light water reactor (Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Nuclear Unit 1 reactor). Following 18 months of irradiation these Lead Test Assembly (LTA) rods were discharged from the reactor and a Post Irradiation Examination (PIE) was conducted. It appeared that the TPBARs performed extremely well and all the components were intact at the end of irradiation.