Publication Laka-library:
Technical options for the Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor
Author | US Office Technology Assessm. |
6-01-2-60-29.pdf | |
Date | May 1994 |
Classification | 6.01.2.60/29 (FAST BREEDERS - GENERAL) |
Front |
From the publication:
Technical Options for the Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor May 1994 OTA-BP-ENV-126 NTIS order #PB94-173994 GPO stock #052-003-01370-3 Recommended Citation: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Technical Options for the Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor---Background Paper, OTA-BP-ENV-126 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, May 1994). —.—— -- Foreword 1 n this post-Cold War era, scientists and engineers have focused much research on the development of technologies to address the legacy of the nuclear arms race. One of the more intractable prob- lems currently is how to dispose of excess plutonium from retired nuclear weapons and how to manage radioactive plutonium waste. The Office of Technology Assessment covered this issue in its 1993 assess- ment Dismantling the Bomb and Managing the Nuclear Materials. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy and Power, asked OTA to expand the technical analysis of the advanced liquid metal reactor (ALMR). This background paper discusses the history and status of the ALMR research program. It presents applications of this technology to the plu- tonium disposition problem and the possible advantages and disadvan- tages of its future development and deployment. It also discusses related issues such as waste management and concerns about proliferation of plutonium material. With regard to its application to the plutonium disposition problem, ALMR technology will require a decade or more of research and testing before the performance of a complete system could be ensured. Even though complete elimination of the plutonium isotope within the reactor is theoretically achievable with this technology, other aspects of full- scale deployment must be considered in s