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The busyness of the nuclear fuel supply chain
Ken Petersenpresident@ans.org
With all that is happening in the industry these days, the nuclear fuel supply chain is still a hot topic. The Russian assault in Ukraine continues to upend the “where” and “how” of attaining nuclear fuel—and it has also motivated U.S. legislators to act.
Two years into the Russian war with Ukraine, things are different. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, authorizing $700 million in funding to support production of high-assay low-enriched uranium in the United States. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy this January issued a $500 million request for proposals to stimulate new HALEU production. The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes $2.7 billion in funding for new uranium enrichment production. This funding was diverted from the Civil Nuclear Credits program and will only be released if there is a ban on importing Russian uranium into the United States—which could happen by the time this column is published, as legislation that bans Russian uranium has passed the House as of this writing and is headed for the Senate. Also being considered is legislation that would sanction Russian uranium. Alternatively, the Biden-Harris administration may choose to ban Russian uranium without legislation in order to obtain access to the $2.7 billion in funding.
Steven J. Piet
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 1 | July 1986 | Pages 7-30
Technical Paper | Safety/Environmental Aspect | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24743
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Achieving inherently safe fusion facilities and conceptual designs is a challenge to the fusion community. Success should provide fusion with important competitive advantages versus other energy technologies. Inherent safety should mean a facility designed with passive safety features such that the public is protected from any acute fatalities under all credible accidental circumstances. A key aspect to inherent safety is demonstrability — the ability to prove that a design is as safe as claimed. Three complementary approaches to achieving inherent safety are examined: toxin inventory reduction, energy source reduction, and design fault tolerance. Four levels of assurance are defined, associated with uncertainty in the words “credible” and “demonstrable.” Sound reasons exist for believing that inherent safety is achievable for fusion. The concept of inherent safety puts a modest upper bound on all accident consequences; it should be considered a part of the collection of safety and environmental issues, which also include lower consequence accidents, waste management, and effluent control.