REDUCED ENRICHMENT FOR RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS (RERTR):STATUS AND CURRENT PLANS

摘要

The Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) Program develops technologyrnnecessary to enable the conversion of civilian facilities using high enriched uranium (HEU) to lowrnenriched uranium (LEU) fuels and targets. The RERTR program mission supports the minimizationrnand, to the extent possible, elimination of the use of HEU in civil nuclear applications by working tornconvert research reactors and radioisotope production processes to the use of LEU fuel andrntargets throughout the world. During the Program’s 27 years of existence, 40 research reactorsrnhave been converted from HEU to LEU fuels and processes have been developed for producingrnthe medical isotope Mo-99 with LEU targets.rnUnder NNSA’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) Program, schedules and plans for thernconversion of additional research reactors operating with HEU are accelerated. The developmentrnof advanced high density LEU fuels to enable the conversions is being emphasized. Researchrnreactor conversion is being coordinated with other GTRI program elements, such as the US andrnRussian origin spent fuel repatriation programs. This paper summarizes the current status andrnplans for conversion of research reactors, in the U.S. and abroad, the supporting fuel developmentrnactivities, and the development of processes for medical isotope production with LEU targets.