It is well known that any neutron-producing device generates induced radioactivity as a by-product of its operation. In the case of nuclear reactors, the induced radioactivity includes fission and activation products. The overall focus of this study is the build up of induced radioactivity in the coolant of metal cooled reactors as well as the evaluation of other physical and chemical properties of such coolants. The objectives of the thesis are two fold. The first objective is to independently calculate the generation of Polonium-210 in reactors cooled by lead and lead-bismuth eutectic. The motivation for this is to address a noted lack of consensus among the world researchers on the significance of Po-210 build up in lead cooled reactors. The second objective is to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of selected candidate metal coolants. In addressing both objectives, the computer code ORIGEN was used. To establish the background basis for these assessments, fundamental concepts of reactor physics are reviewed and discussed.
