Appendix A
Charge for the Committee on Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment (Phases 1 and 2)
The Committee on Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment is currently in its third phase. The committee had two separate charges corresponding to its two previous phases. Phase 1, which operated from 1995 to 1996, had two aspects to its charge:
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Hold a first meeting to receive briefings from representatives of the DOE and ANL, additional experts identified by the committee, and representatives of other relevant activities of the National Research Council and National Academies of Science and Engineering, and then prepare an interim report to address the question, “Do electrometallurgical techniques represent a potentially viable technology for DOE spent fuel treatment that warrants further research and development?”
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Study in more depth the advantages and disadvantages of continued R&D into electrometallurgical processing as a candidate technology for disposition of DOE spent nuclear fuel, specifically addressing the issues of technical feasibility, cost-effectiveness, suitability of the metallic waste form for long-term storage or geologic disposal, and nonproliferation implications, and write a report on the committee 's assessments.
Phase 2, which ran from 1996 to 1997, had a charge that continued evaluation of ANL's demonstration project and included the issue of weapons plutonium treatment:
Under the oversight of the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (BCST) the Committee on Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment will carry out two tasks. The first will be an ongoing evaluation of Argonne National Laboratory's R&D activity on electrometallurgical techniques for DOE spent fuel treatment, including their specific application to EBR-II spent fuel. The second task will be to evaluate the scientific and technological issues associated with extending this research and development program to handle plutonium, should the DOE decide that an electrometallurgical treatment option for the disposition of excess weapons plutonium is worth pursuing.
