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Reducing the Use of Highly Enriched Uranium in Civilian Research Reactors (2016) / Chapter Skim
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Summary
Pages 1-8

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From page 1...
... Today, 74 civilian research reactors around the world, including 8 in the United States, use or are planning to use HEU fuel. Encouragingly, since the last National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the Academies)
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From page 2...
... The situation is quite different in Europe, where the youngest HPRRs are as little as 12 years old and where additional research reactors are under construction or active planning. In short, European countries are developing and executing a strategy for ensuring the continued availability of HPRRs to meet their future needs; the United States has no such strategy and seems to expect the current HPRRs to operate indefinitely.
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From page 3...
... The fuel type being pursued by the United States faces more manufacturing challenges for qualification than the type being developed in Europe and South Korea and, therefore, the development and qualification time lines have higher uncertainty and risk (Finding 6)
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From page 4...
... Although DOE has been actively engaged in reactor conversions and shutdowns around the world, there has not been a conversion of a civilian research reactor to LEU fuel in the United States since 2009. This lack of conversions, combined with the long time line for conversion of the USHPRRs, could call into question the level of U.S.
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From page 5...
... b. The United States should downblend the remaining 20 metric tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU)
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From page 6...
... This may be a Russian priority that can be leveraged in continuing bilateral efforts on HEU minimization. Given current international relations in general, and the state of U.S.-Russian relations in particular, the United States and the international community have little influence on Russian prioritization of its domestic civilian research reactor conversions (Finding 13)
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From page 7...
... Reduction in the amount of weapon-grade HEU fuel shipped to HEU-fueled research reactors during the reporting period attribut able to the conversion program. The technical setbacks and increasingly longer time lines for conversion of USHPRRs emphasize the need to develop a robust project management strategy along with regular independent technical and programmatic evaluations (Finding 17)
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From page 8...
... 8 REDUCING THE USE OF HEU IN CIVILIAN RESEARCH REACTORS robust project and risk management. These reviews should be con ducted by qualified, independent, and diverse external experts.
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Key Terms

  • civilian research
  • enriched uranium
  • research reactor
  • leu fuel
  • low enriched

  • fuel development
  • heu fuel
  • power density
  • test reactors
  • highly enriched

  • lower power
  • density requirements
  • south korea
  • time lines
  • domestic research

  • reactors operate
  • reactor fuel
  • reactors worldwide
  • leu dispersion
  • reactors using

  • spent fuel
  • monolithic fuel
  • dispersion fuel
  • test reactor
  • reactor conversion

  • significant technical
  • conversion program
  • eliminating heu
  • reactor conversions
  • robust project


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