A study of the application of HFETR and its safety review management principles

With the rapid development of national economy and scientific and technological capabilities over the past decades, irradiation test and isotope production of research reactors have grown considerably, and the associated safety risks and controls accompanying the research reactor operations and applications have become increasing critical. With the gradual diversification of irradiation test methods and test materials in research reactors, it is difficult for the relevant regulations and guidance frameworks based on HAF/HAD (nuclear safety laws and regulations of China / nuclear safety guidance of China) to cover all types of applications, creating challenges in safety review and management for research reactor applications in practice. In this study, we have sorted out the relevant laws, regulations and bases of research reactor application safety review, categorized the research reactor applications and historical data of HFETR (High Flux Engineering Test Reactor), analyzed the specific application safety review practices of HFETR, and proposed the management principles for its application safety review. The research findings presented in this paper can provide technical references for safety review processes and management practices pertaining to applications in similar research reactors.