Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
2000 International RERTR Meeting

A CONTINUING SUCCESS –
 THE UNITED STATES FOREIGN RESEARCH REACTOR SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL ACCEPTANCE PROGRAM

by

Tracy P. Mustin, United States Department of Energy

Maureen Clapper, United States Department of Energy

Jill E. Reilly, Science Applications International Corporation

ABSTRACT

The United States Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of State, adopted the Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel in May 1996.  To date, the Foreign Research Reactor (FRR) Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Acceptance Program, established under this policy, has completed 16 spent fuel shipments.  2,651 material test reactor (MTR) assemblies, one Slowpoke core containing less than 1 kilogram of U.S.-origin enriched uranium, 824 Training, Research, Isotope, General Atomic (TRIGA) rods, and 267 TRIGA pins from research reactors around the world have been shipped to the United States so far under this program.

As the FRR SNF Acceptance Program progresses into the fifth year of implementation, a second U.S. cross country shipment has been completed, as well as a second overland truck shipment from Canada.  Both the cross country shipment and the Canadian shipment were safely and successfully completed, increasing our knowledge and experience in these types of shipments.  In addition, two other shipments were completed since last year’s RERTR meeting.  Other program activities since the last meeting included: taking pre-emptive steps to avoid license amendment pitfalls/showstoppers for spent fuel casks, publication of a revision to the Record of Decision allowing up to 16 casks per ocean going vessel, and the issuance of a cable to 16 of the 41 eligible countries reminding their governments and the reactor operators that the U.S.-origin uranium in their research reactors may be eligible for return to the United States under the Acceptance Program and urging them to begin discussions on shipping schedules.  The FRR SNF program has also supported the Department’s implementation of the competitive pricing policy for uranium and resumption of shipments of fresh uranium for fabrication into assemblies for research reactors.  The United States Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Acceptance Program continues to be successful in reducing the amount of high enriched uranium in civil nuclear activities, thus supporting worldwide nonproliferation efforts.  This success is due to the continuing cooperation and coordination between the United States Government and the research reactor community.  Eligible reactor operators interested in participating in this program are strongly encouraged to evaluate their inventory of fuel and determine a plan for future shipments as soon as possible.

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