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To: hmaly who wrote (55456)	9/15/2001 10:31:12 PM
From: dale_laroy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 275872

>Heavy water AFAIK has the same limitations as water, in that when you lose the water, the core must be shut down to avoid a meltdown. The Helium reactors shut down automatically, as you need Helium to sustain the reaction. Helium is also inert, and as such doesn't carry radiation out of the core should a leak occur.< Not exactly. I am not sure that heavy water can be used as a moderator, but it certainly absorbs few neutrons than light water, which means that the neutron flux in a heavy water reactor can be much less than in a light water reactor. I am quite certain that, while the coolant in a heavy water reactor might not be able to moderate the neutrons alone, it is needed to at least "finish the job". Thus, a coolant loss will lead to an automatic shutdown.