Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.

OCR for page R1
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 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

OCR for page R1
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 Govern- ing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer- ing, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropri- ate balance. This study was supported by Award No. DE-DT0001743 TO4 between the Na- tional 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

OCR for page R1
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 Acad- emy 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 engi- neers. 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 engineer- ing programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is presi- dent 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 Insti- tute 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

OCR for page R1

OCR for page R1
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 v

OCR for page R1
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 vi

OCR for page R1
Acknowledgments A number of individuals and organizations contributed to the success- ful 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 Sci- ences (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 sup- port 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 prepara- tion and ably handled report review and publication. Ms. Erin Wingo skill- fully managed the logistics for the committee’s U.S. meetings, the Moscow symposium (in close consultation with Dr. Yuri Shiyan), and report prepa- ration, review, and publication. Dr. Rita Guenther, staff for the Committee vii

OCR for page R1
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 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 com- ments 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.

OCR for page R1
Contents OVERVIEW 1 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 3 2 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH CONVERSION 21 3 REACTOR CONVERSION CASE STUDIES 61 4 MANAGING PROLIFERATION RISKS AND MAINTAINING MISSIONS 89 APPENDIXES A Symposium Agenda 103 B Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches 109 C Statement of Task 115 ix

OCR for page R1