Identify a true statement concerning a Boiling Water Reactor:

• A. Steam is generated in the reactor vessel/core
• B. N-16 causes elevated dose rates in the Turbine Building
• C. The reactor operates at a low pressure
• D. The reactor uses heavy water cooling

Answer: (A)

Boiling in the reactor vessel is the defining feature of a Boiling Water Reactor. In this design, the coolant water is kept under enough pressure to remain hot but mostly liquid, and it boils inside the core. The steam that forms there then goes directly to the turbine, driving it without a separate steam-generator step. That direct generation of steam in the reactor vessel is what distinguishes a BWR from other designs.

The other statements aren’t correct for a BWR. It does not operate at low pressure; it runs at high pressure to keep the coolant in a single loop and to allow boiling to occur in the core. It does not use heavy water for cooling—ordinary light water is used. As for N-16 causing elevated dose rates in the Turbine Building, that activation product can appear in reactor coolant systems, but it’s not what defines a BWR and its impact on dose rates is design- and operation-dependent rather than a universal characteristic of all BWRs.