Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

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The transient kinetic behavior of light water reactors was studied at the
SPERT-I through -IV reactors and liquid metal cooled reactor behavior was
researched at EBR-I. At the INEL, liquid metal cooled reactor behavior and
materials research continues at the EBR-II, and TREAT facilities.
The early experiments in basic reactor behavior and materials "research were
followed by extensive safety research at the INEL for severe accident in both
water cooled liquid metal cooled reactors. INEL activities encompassed both
experimental research and the development of a wide range of safety analysis
tools and capabilities. The three focal points for INEL water reactor accident
experimental research were the Semiscale Facility, the Loss-of-Fluid Test
(LOFT) Facility and the Power Burst Facility (PBF).
Since it began operation in 1965, the Semiscale Facility has conducted
hundreds of non-nuclear experiments to investigate thermal -hydraulic phenomena
that occur in pressurized water reactors under abnormal conditions. The LOFT
reactor began operation in 1976, and has conducted 40 nuclear tests to
investigate reactor system behavior and the capabilities of emergency core
cooling systems to prevent core damage during various reactor plant accidents
including complete loss-of-coolant accidents. The LOFT test program culminated
in two experiments in which the reactor fuel was allowed to reach
temperatures sufficient to cause fuel failure and the release and transport of
fission produces in the reactor system. Finally, since its beginning in 1972,
the Power Burst Facility has provided detailed information on a variety of
fuel types to better understand the behavior of fuel and the release of
fission products during severe accident conditions. Experiments in the Sodium
Loop Safety Facility installed in the ETR, answered many of the "what-if"