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NNSA developing research-reactor fuel that can’t be used in nuclear weapons

Posted at 3:39 pm December 22, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Qualification of the new high-density fuel will allow for the conversion of U.S. high performance research reactors, such as the Advanced Test Reactor located at Idaho National Laboratory, shown here. (Photo by National Nuclear Security Administration)

Qualification of the new high-density fuel will allow for the conversion of U.S. high performance research reactors, such as the Advanced Test Reactor located at Idaho National Laboratory, shown here. (Photo by National Nuclear Security Administration)

 

The National Nuclear Security Administration is leading an effort to develop and qualify a new fuel that will allow high-performance research reactors in the United States that currently use highly enriched uranium to be converted to reactors that use low-enriched uranium fuel.

The research reactors that could be converted include the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The goal is to develop a fuel that cannot be used in a nuclear weapon. The research reactors perform unique science and are a critical part of the U.S. nuclear complex, but all together, they use 200 kilograms of highly enriched uranium each year. That’s enough material for at least eight weapons, according to the NNSA.

On Wednesday, the NNSA said it has presented the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a preliminary report on uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) monolithic fuel. The report contains data about the performance of the new fuel in a reactor and how it holds up under a variety of conditions. [Read more…]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: HEU, High Flux Isotope Reactor, high-performance research reactors, highly enriched uranium, Jessica Halse, LEU, LEU fuel, low-enriched uranium fuel, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, NRC, nuclear weapon, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, research reactors, U-Mo monolithic fuel, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. nuclear complex, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, uranium-molybdenum monolithic fuel

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