Inherent Safety and Development of China's High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor

• In Event: Environmental Risks in Transnational Contexts II

Abstract

The research on China HTGR is carried out at the Institute of Nuclear Energy of Tsinghua University with the support of the government. After more than two decades of continuous efforts, China has mastered the core technologies and system design technologies, and the world's first commercial demonstration power station of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor has been built in Rongsheng Bay, Shandong Province. It is expected to generate electricity by 2018. There are many possible reasons why a HTGR can develop smoothly in China, of which inherent safety is the primary reason. The so-called inherent safety means that in any accident does not occur a large number of reactor core melting and radioactive release, to achieve the fourth generation nuclear energy system nuclear safety goals. This paper focuses on the role of inherent safety in the research and development of HTGR in China, and expounds and analyzes the cognition and interaction between scientists, government, enterprises and the public.

Author

• Guangling Xiao, STS Center at Tsinghua University, Beijing, PR China