Fission product transport in the primary system, important phenomena, and code status

The purpose of this paper is to identify important issues concerning the transport and deposition of radionuclides in the reactor coolant system (RCS) under accident conditions and to examine how such issues are being treated or should be treated by the various available computer codes. In general, the RCS is a very important section of the transport pathway along which radionuclides move and by which they are attenuated as they travel after being released from the fuel. The RCS can serve as a sink for radionuclides that may deposit from the gas and react with surfaces, or can serve as a repository for materials deposited from the gas which are then available for later release into the transporting gas stream. The RCS may also have thermal hydraulic conditions that foster aerosol growth by condensation or agglomeration, and may provide an environment in which gas phase or heterogeneous chemical reactions may occur