During the five Fiscal Years 1992 through 1996 DOE has proposed to spend about $1.6 billion on R&D for civilian nuclear power. Funding projections are about $0.2 billion for the near-term reactor technologies and about $1.4 billion for the long-term reactor technologies, including about $0.7 billion for support facilities (discussed below).[Rohm, 1991] For the near term, advanced mid-sized light water reactors (LWR) with passive safety features are being developed in cooperation with the nuclear industry. DOE also is providing some assistance to the industry's development of large evolutionary LWRs. For the long term, DOE is currently funding the development of modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (MHTGR) and liquid metal reactors (LMR).

The funding projections for facilities include about $0.2 billion for shutdown of the Hanford fast flux test facility (FFTF) over the period FY 1992 through 1996. DOE has proposed to shut down the FFTF complex, although Congress has appropriated funds for continued operation in FY 1991.

No funds are presently provided for DOE test facilities to support the development of commercial LWRs, nor have any facilities been identified and requested for DOE funding by the nuclear industry. However, many DOE test facilities currently exist in support of the LMR development program. [Hunter, 1989] The most important of these facilities are:

1. The FFTF (located in Washington)--a large LMR designed for irradiation tests of multiple full-sized metallic or oxide fuel elements in realistic conditions. It also has the capability for testing fuels and materials for a wide range of fission and fusion concepts, including safety related experiments.

2. The experimental breeder reactor-II (EBR-II, located in Idaho)--a LMR, which serves as an irradiation test bed for metallic fuel elements of small modular reactors and as a test bed for safety experiments. Although the fuel element lengths are shorter than those envisioned for advanced commercial LMRs, EBR-II is a major element of the integral fast reactor (IFR) program.

3. The hot fuel examination facility/south (HFEF/S, located in Idaho)--used for support of the IFR program on metallic fuel.

Front Matter (R1-R18)

Summary (1-14)

1 Introduction (15-18)

2 The Institutional Framework (19-90)

3 Assessment of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies (91-160)

4 Federal Research and Development Alternatives (161-179)

5 Conclusions and Recommendations (180-198)

Individual Views of Committee Members (199-202)

Appendix A Committee Meetings (203-208)

Appendix B Criteria Developed for the Comparative Analysis of Advanced Reactor Technologies (209-213)

List of Acronyms (214-216)