Y-12's HEU/thorium reactor fuel going bye-bye after 30 years in storage

[bananas]

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2011/04/y-12s-heuthorium-reactor-fuel.html

Y-12's HEU/thorium reactor fuel going bye-bye after 30 years in storage

A bunch of unirradiated reactor fuel -- a mix of highly enriched uranium and thorium -- has been stored at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge for nearly three decades. It's now being prepared for disposal at the Nevada National Security Site (what used to be known as the Nevada Test Site).

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According to that report, the surplus material is High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) fuel that's comprised of "micro-encapsulated particle spheres."

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However, it's not clear what reactor it was designed for, Wyatt said, nor is there information on it's planned uses. The NNSA now plans to send all of the nuclear material to Nevada, he said.

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According to the defense board report, the material is currently stored in a wide range of containers that once were certified for off-site shipments but no longer meet shipment standards. There are 30-gallon, 55-gallon and 110-gallon containers.

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Posted by Frank Munger on April 20, 2011 at 11:46 PM