Submarine liquid metal reactor releases

By the year 2180, fission products and actinides from the damaged and undamaged reactor cores join the release stream and the total release rate is of the order of 5 GBq-a. By the year 3000, the rise in release rate of the SNF and thermal shields of the reactors, caused by the expanding circles of corrosion exceeds the fall due to decay, and the release rate rises until the year 5200 when the ECTs merge to form an annulus. The release rate then varies as the shields external to the ECTs corrode away by the year 6800 and the left board SG loses all its SNF by the year 7500. By this stage, the release rate has fallen to 0.07 GBq a.  

The release rate remains steady until the year 11400 when the thermal shields corrode away. Release rates then continue at 0.004 GBq-a from the SNF and the Pb-Bi, as the reflector is attacked by corrosion. A small rise occurs in the year 18400 as the reflector corrodes away and the water is able to attack the outside of the core. Release then continues at a rate of 0.007 GBq-a until all the SNF has corroded away in the year 36580. 

Although this is a possibility, the first predicted pathway to the damaged SNF is via the welded body of the SG. To open this path requires the corrosion of two SS welds of 20 mm thickness and the degradation of the Furfurol(F) inside the SG and the bitumen surrounding the whole SGI. However, the SNF will have a mixture of fission products and actinides, including Eu and Cs. 

The model results and the observations conflict this might be because was contaminated by Eu, Eu, and Cs before disposal. 

Techeniye Fjord, unit 538, total activity release for Scenario A, activation products only. 

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FIG. 15. Fractional release rate versus time for activation products from the corrosion of thermal shields via the emergency cooling tubes (ECTs) and steam envelope of the liquid metal reactors of submarine factory number 601. 

FIG. 19. Fractional release rate of fission products and actinides from corrosion via the emergency protection rod (EPR) channels of the cores of the liquid metal reactors of submarine factory... 

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