Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division

Updates on Advanced Nuclear Reactor Security and Material Control and Accounting

March 13, 2025|12:00–1:00PM (1:00–2:00PM EDT)

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Two Featured Presentations!

Hosted by the ANS Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD)

Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) for Advanced Reactors

By John Russell

Currently the Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations MC&A requirements are largely written for light water reactor nuclear power plants (NPP’s), research reactors, fuel fabrication plants, enrichment facilities, and similar facility types already licensed by the NRC.

This presentation, MC&A for Advanced Reactors, will attempt to clarify how these requirements will be interpreted and applied to advanced reactors given the broad scope of facility designs that fall under this category. ANSI standard N15.9-2009, currently endorsed by the NRC staff as an acceptable way to meet MC&A requirements for NPPs, will be used as a baseline to compare equivalent performance-based interpretations for advanced reactors.

Security, Safety, and Safeguard Considerations for the Abilene Christian University Molten Salt Research Reactor

By Lester Towell

Molten salt reactors have the potential to address some of the world's most pressing issues, such as providing clean water, affordable energy, and medical isotopes. The Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Lab (NEXT) at Abilene Christian University is spearheading an initiative to design, license, and deploy the Natura MSR-1as the Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR).

The MSRR is intended to serve as a testbed for researchers to develop solutions to global challenges, thereby accelerating Natura's efforts to commercially deploy molten salt reactors and expand access to these solutions. This talk will outline NEXT Lab's progress towards its goals, upcoming steps, and research opportunities, including advantages of advanced reactor designs on safety, security, and safeguards.

Speakers

John Russell

NRC Domestic Material Control and Accounting Analyst

John Russell has over 30 years of nuclear experience, including 12 years at the NRC, 22 years at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, and 5 years as a US Navy Nuclear Trained Naval Officer. John currently serves an NRC Domestic Material Control and Accounting Analyst in the Material Control and Accounting Branch in the Division of Fuel Management.

In addition to his current position, John also served in the NRC as a Headquarter Operations Officer, License Examiner, and Resident Inspector. At the IAEA, he was a Senior Nuclear Material Safeguards Inspector assigned to several regions across the world including, Japan, former Soviet Union countries, and several counties in North Africa and North America. John earned his bachelor’s degree in integrated science from Northwestern University.

Lester Towell

Director of Operations, ACU's NEXT Lab

Towell earned his bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from Abilene Christian University in 1990. For the next four years, he served in the US Navy as an instructor at the Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL where he taught Reactor Principles and Physics. In 1995, Towell joined the Computer Information Systems department at Howard Payne University and moved to the Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Lab at ACU in 2020 as the licensing manager for the first university advanced reactor in the country.

Currently, Towell serves as the Director of Operations for the NEXT Lab at ACU which is designing the world’s first molten salt research reactor. The mission of the ACU NEXT Lab is to provide global solutions to the world’s critical need for energy, water, and medical isotopes by advancing the technology of molten salt reactors while educating future leaders in nuclear science and engineering.

Moderator: Shikha Prasad

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Srijan LLC

Shikha Prasad is the Chair of the ANS Nuclear Nonproliferation Division. Her mission has been sustainable energy solutions for all with a focus in nuclear and radiation technology. Shikha has taught and researched radiation detection methods and reactor operations in the energy industry. These efforts range from novel detection techniques, artificial intelligence methods to reactor measurements and operations. She also previously worked at Texas A&M University, IIT-Kanpur, Carnegie Mellon University and SLB.

Watch the Previous NNPD Webinar

This recorded webinar titled We Cannot Effectively Influence Nonproliferation from the Sidelines discusses how the widespread adoption of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation norms will impact the future of advanced reactors.

Watch Now

Webinar Downloads

John Russell Presentation

Lester Towell Presentation

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