Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

241
QUESTION 1. Some people have said that the Chernobyl
reactor did have a containment system of
sorts. But as I understand it, the reactor
had merely a pressure suppression system and
'other safety features that were designed
more to protect the reactor from damage, as
opposed to protecting the public from
injury. Can you elaborate on this?
ANSWER .
Our present understanding of the design of the Chernobyl Unit 4
reactor that was involved in the recent accident is based on
available documents and discussions with technical experts
familiar with Soviet reactor technology. That information is not
sufficient to allow a complete understanding of the reactor and
containment design at this time. However, it is clear that the
Chernobyl design did not have a containment structure surrounding
the primary reactor system such as is used on U.S. licensed
reactors .
Portions of the Chernobyl reactor design perform some of the same
functions as in the U.S. licensed designs. However, the designs
are not directly comparable. In the Chernobyl design, the fuel is
held in fuel tubes containing multiple fuel elements and the
cooling water. These fuel tubes are designed for pressures
approximately equal to the design pressure of the fuel elements in
some U.S. reactors (about 1500 psig). The fuel tubes are then