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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for
Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors

A Workshop Report

U.S. Committee on Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for
Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors from
Highly Enriched to Low Enriched Uranium Fuel

Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board
Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
                      OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Russian Committee on Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for
Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors from
Highly Enriched to Low Enriched Uranium Fuel

Russian Academy of Sciences

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS   500 Fifth Street, N.W.   Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Award No. DE-DT0001743 TO4 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-25320-8
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-25320-9

Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu.

Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×

U.S. COMMITTEE ON PROGRESS, CHALLENGES,
AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONVERTING U.S. AND
RUSSIAN RESEARCH REACTORS FROM HIGHLY
ENRICHED TO LOW ENRICHED URANIUM FUEL

RICHARD M. MESERVE, Chair, Carnegie Institution of Science, Washington, District of Columbia

DAVID DIAMOND, Brookhaven National Laboratories, Upton, New York

JAMES SNELGROVE, Argonne National Laboratories (retired), Argonne, Illinois

RUSSIAN COMMITTEE ON PROGRESS, CHALLENGES,
AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONVERTING U.S. AND
RUSSIAN RESEARCH REACTORS FROM HIGHLY
ENRICHED TO LOW ENRICHED URANIUM FUEL

NIKOLAY LAVEROV, Chair, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

VLADIMIR ASMOLOV, Rosenergoatom, Moscow

VALENTIN IVANOV, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

BORIS MYASOEDOV, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

ANATOLY ZRODNIKOV, Rosatom Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, Moscow

Staff

SARAH C. CASE, Study Director (through September 30, 2011), National Academies

KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Study Director (from October 1, 2011), National Academies

YURI SHIYAN, Liaison, Russian Academy of Sciences

TONI GREENLEAF, Administrative and Financial Associate, National Academies

ERIN WINGO, Senior Program Assistant, National Academies

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×

NUCLEAR AND RADIATION STUDIES BOARD

JAY C. DAVIS (Chair), Hertz Foundation, Livermore, California

BARBARA J. MCNEIL (Vice-Chair), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

JOONHONG AHN, University of California, Berkeley

JOHN S. APPLEGATE, Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington

MICHAEL L. CORRADINI, University of Wisconsin, Madison

PATRICIA J. CULLIGAN, Columbia University, New York, New York

ROBERT C. DYNES, University of California, San Diego

JOE GRAY, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland

DAVID G. HOEL, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston

HEDVIG HRICAK, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

THOMAS H. ISAACS, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California

ANNIE B. KERSTING, Glen T. Seaborg Institute, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California

MARTHA LINET, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

FRED A. METTLER, JR., New Mexico VA Health Care System, Albuquerque, New Mexico

BORIS F. MYASOEDOV, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

RICHARD J. VETTER, Mayo Clinic (retired), Rochester, Minnesota

RAYMOND G. WYMER, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (retired), Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Staff

KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Director

SARAH C. CASE, Senior Program Officer

OURANIA KOSTI, Program Officer

TONI GREENLEAF, Administrative and Financial Associate

LAURA D. LLANOS, Administrative and Financial Associate

SHAUNTEÉ WHETSTONE, Senior Program Assistant

ERIN WINGO, Senior Program Assistant

JAMES YATES, JR., Office Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×

Acknowledgments

A number of individuals and organizations contributed to the successful completion of this report. The committee wishes to thank the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Dr. Jeffrey Chamberlin, NNSA’s liaison to the committee, for supporting this project. Of course, the success of this project is due in large part to the high-quality presentations provided by the symposium speakers, who are listed in Appendix A.

The U.S. committee also wishes to thank the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) for hosting the symposium at its facilities in Moscow. Dr. Yuri Shiyan, RAS liaison to the committee, served as the primary link between the U.S. and Russian committees and provided effective and tireless support for both committees. Dr. Nikolay Arkhangelsky (Rosatom), Dr. Yuri Cherepnin (Dollezhal Scientific Research and Design Institute of Energy Technologies [NIKIET]), and Dr. Evegeny Ryazantsev (Kurchatov Institute) provided helpful reviews and fact checking of the committee’s final report.

The committee extends special thanks to the staff of the National Research Council for supporting this study. Study director Dr. Sarah Case took the lead for organizing the symposium and was primarily responsible for shaping the committee’s final report. Dr. Kevin Crowley, director of the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board (NRSB), assisted with report preparation and ably handled report review and publication. Ms. Erin Wingo skillfully managed the logistics for the committee’s U.S. meetings, the Moscow symposium (in close consultation with Dr. Yuri Shiyan), and report preparation, review, and publication. Dr. Rita Guenther, staff for the Committee

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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on International Security and Arms Control, and Ms. Toni Greenleaf of the NRSB also provided valuable advice on symposium logistics.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council (NRC). The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the NRC in making its published report as sound as possible and will ensure that this report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:

•  Pablo Adelfang, International Atomic Energy Agency

•  Thomas Newton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

•  Jordi Roglans, Argonne National Laboratory

•  Jasmina Vujic, University of California at Berkeley

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the contents of this report, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Rodney C. Ewing, University of Michigan. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were considered carefully. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committees and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13346.
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Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is used for two major civilian purposes: as fuel for research reactors and as targets for medical isotope production. This material can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Stolen or diverted HEU can be used-in conjunction with some knowledge of physics-to build nuclear explosive devices. Thus, the continued civilian use of HEU is of concern particularly because this material may not be uniformly well-protected. To address these concerns, the National Research Council (NRC) of the U.S. National Academies and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) held a joint symposium on June 8-10, 2011.

Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Converting U.S. and Russian Research Reactors summarizes the proceedings of this joint symposium. This report addresses: (1) recent progress on conversion of research reactors, with a focus on U.S.- and R.F.-origin reactors; (2) lessons learned for overcoming conversion challenges, increasing the effectiveness of research reactor use, and enabling new reactor missions; (3) future research reactor conversion plans, challenges, and opportunities; and (4) actions that could be taken by U.S. and Russian organizations to promote conversion. The agenda for the symposium is provided in Appendix A, biographical sketches of the committee members are provided in Appendix B, and the report concludes with the statement of task in Appendix C.

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