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Launching into tomorrow: NRIC guides new era of research and deployment
In June 2025, the Department of Energy announced the Reactor Pilot Program, an authorization pathway that allowed reactor developers to partner with the DOE to get first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactors built and tested. Soon after, the DOE rolled out a complementary Fuel Line Pilot Program, which aimed to fast-track fuel projects. In all, 20 projects were accepted into the new programs.
R. C. Smith, L. G. Faust, L. W. Brackenbush
Nuclear Technology | Volume 18 | Number 2 | May 1973 | Pages 97-108
Technical Paper | A Review of Plutonium Utilization in Thermal Reactors / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT73-A31281
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Personnel radiation exposure problems in fabricating and handling plutonium fuels are described. The effects of variations in plutonium isotopic composition, due to differences in reactor types and fuel exposure and the resultant combined effects on personnel radiation exposure, are also described. It is concluded that increased shielding will be required for plutonium fuel fabrication facilities when full-scale plutonium recycle is under way, due to the higher radiation levels associated with high exposure plutonium and to more restrictive personnel radiation exposure limits than those currently used. However, it should be possible to handle completed plutonium fuel assemblies containing high exposure plutonium without excessive personnel exposure and with a minimum of special handling procedures.