Ensuring a Future Supply of Low Enriched Uranium for Research and Isotope Production Reactors

The amendment to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 allowed civilian peaceful use of nuclear energy and United States Government (USG) assistance to foreign countries developing peaceful nuclear programs. Today, the 1U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) continues to supply enriched uranium for peaceful uses in the application of research and medical therapy. The DOE Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program, established in 1978, promotes the use of 2low enriched uranium (LEU) in lieu of 3highly enriched uranium (HEU) in civil applications. The vast majority of the LEU supplied today by DOE for research reactors is typically enriched to ~19.75% in the isotope U-235. DOE produces the LEU by down-blending HEU that is excess to national defense needs to produce high purity LEU. While the fuel for commercial nuclear reactors is available from the private sector, the higher enrichment level needed for research reactors is not and the supply depends on the availability of excess HEU. Availability of excess HEU is affected by the timing of nuclear weapon dismantlement, characterization and/or processing, and the many competing priorities for excess HEU. Based on current forecasts, the excess HEU allocated for use in research reactors could be exhausted after 2030 unless an additional source is identified. While DOE has enough uranium to meet current programmatic requirements, careful planning is needed to determine the best use of excess HEU removed from the nuclear weapons stockpile and to identify reliable sources of enriched uranium once the excess from the stockpile has been consumed. DOE has initiated an effort to better understand LEU availability. DOE is assessing its inventory and collecting information from customers to update requirements. The assessment is expected to identify and recommend alternatives for extending the supplies of existing LEU. It will also identify follow-on sources to ensure that the DOE commitment to remain a reliable supplier for research and isotope production reactors will continue to be met. This paper will provide an overview of DOE’s current effort to perform an integrated LEU assessment for the identification of LEU requirements, inventories expected to be usable, processing capabilities and gaps, and potential solutions.