State of the Art of Molten Salt Reactors (MSR) and Areas of Regulatory Focus

Abstract of the journal article presented in:
Cooperative Severe Accident Research Program (CSARP) technical review and MELCOR Code Assessment Program (MCAP)
June 7–11, 2021

Prepared by: Mounia Berdaï
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Abstract:

A key characteristic of molten salt reactors (MSRs) is their ability to retain high-temperature fission products (FPs) under most accident conditions. MSRs are also known to operate at very high temperatures and to operate at or closer to the atmospheric pressure. The use of this technology may reduce the large expensive containment structures and make MSRs a cost-effective technology compared with other existing technologies.

This presentation provides an overview of the recent research and development (R&D) and certain safety analysis, performed in the MSR domain. In addition, it highlights the MSR safety issues and the capability of the current regulatory framework to handle them. The presentation also emphasizes the need to address the identified knowledge gaps and the source term estimation.

Keywords: molten salt reactor, source term, regulatory issues

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