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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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DOE fast tracks test reactor projects: What to know
The Department of Energy today unveiled 10 companies racing to bring test reactors online by next year to meet Trump's deadline of next Independance Day, leveraging a new DOE pathway that allows reactor authorization outside national labs. As first outlined in one of the four executive orders on nuclear energy released by President Trump on May 23 and in the request for applications for the Reactor Pilot Program released June 18, the companies must use their own money and sites—and DOE authorization—to get reactors operating. What they won’t need is a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license.
T. A. Parish
Nuclear Technology | Volume 42 | Number 2 | February 1979 | Pages 180-194
Technical Paper | Thorium Fuel Cycle in a Breeder Economy / Radioactive Waste | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32149
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Transmutation of 90Sr using fusion neutrons has been suggested as a possible technique for disposing of this waste nuclide. For transmutation to be attractive, high transmutation rates relative to natural decay are required. “Effective” half-lives for 90Sr were computed for fusion reactor blankets constructed of various materials. To obtain satisfactory transmutation rates, fusion reactors with high first wall neutron currents and with highly moderating blankets were found to be necessary. An effective half-life for 90Sr of <5 yr was extremely difficult to achieve with the fusion concepts and blankets studied. A waste management system was formulated to determine the reduction in the 90Sr inventory and the number of burners required for various fission usage scenarios. Efficient and fast chemical separations were needed to reap the benefits of a short effective half-life. For the fusion burners considered, it was found that the 90Sr inventory could not be reduced to less than one-fourth of the inventory without transmutation if fission usage continued at a constant rate. Such a reduction is not sufficient to justify the transmutation disposal of 90Sr.