From what I remember, the water that is near the fissile material is in its own closed loop tank and has heat exchangers that transfer heat to another water loop that goes to the turbines.
In a pressurized water reactor, yes. In boiling water reactor, steam is formed in the reactor vessel and is sent directly to the turbines. While in operation, the turbine area is too radioactive for human presence. Fortunately, the radioactive byproducts carried in the steam are all very short lived, so it only takes a few minutes cool off.
From what I remember, the water that is near the fissile material is in its own closed loop tank and has heat exchangers that transfer heat to another water loop that goes to the turbines.
In a pressurized water reactor, yes. In boiling water reactor, steam is formed in the reactor vessel and is sent directly to the turbines. While in operation, the turbine area is too radioactive for human presence. Fortunately, the radioactive byproducts carried in the steam are all very short lived, so it only takes a few minutes cool off.