Experts Urge US Not to Use Weapons-Grade Uranium in Experiment

The Transient Test Reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory about 50 miles west of Idaho Falls, in eastern Idaho, on Nov. 29, 2018. Keith Ridler/AP Photo

A group of nuclear nonproliferation experts has written a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy, urging it to not use bomb-grade nuclear fuel in an experiment as this could violate America’s longstanding policy against using such fuel.

The May 30 letter (pdf) raised concerns about the proposed Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE) at the Idaho National Laboratory. The experiment is expected to use over 600 kilograms of 93 percent enriched weapons-grade uranium, which is highly enriched uranium (HEU), that can be used to make dozens of nuclear weapons. The letter argued that the experiment would undermine longstanding American policy on minimizing HEU use.

The HEU minimization policy was adopted by the U.S. government in the 1970s. Since then, at least 71 reactor facilities worldwide have converted their fuel from HEU to low-enriched uranium (LEU).

“The U.S. government also has opposed construction of any new research facility using HEU, whether foreign or domestic, on grounds that it would undermine the international norm and thereby encourage further use of HEU that would increase risks of nuclear weapons spreading to states and terrorists,” the letter states.

If the United States were to set up a facility using HEU, it could attract accusations of hypocrisy since Washington has asked other nations to eliminate HEU fuel from new and existing reactors, the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project (NPPP) said in a May 30 press release.

For instance, Germany announced in April that it would convert its most powerful nuclear reactor from HEU to LEU fuel after decades of pressure from the United States. LEU is unsuitable for nuclear weapons. In May, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) withheld Belgium’s request for HEU fuel by arguing that the country’s reactor could convert to LEU by 2026.

The letter warns that if the United States violates policy on HEU minimization, it could result in “grave harm” to Washington’s nonproliferation objectives. The experts asked for suspending work on the MCRE unless the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy office develops an alternative LEU design.

Converting to LEU

Converting MCRE design to use LEU fuel would “increase significantly” the size of the facility and amount of fuel, thus raising costs as well, the group of experts admitted.

However, U.S. policy has consistently justified the cost increase on the grounds of reducing proliferation and terrorism risks, it said. If the MCRE project proceeds with HEU, “the damage to national security could exceed any potential benefit from this highly speculative energy technology.”

“Other countries could cite the US precedent to demand the right to import or enrich their own HEU, ostensibly for similar research facilities, but in fact as a shortcut to nuclear weapons,” Alan J. Kuperman, a professor at the University of Texas and coordinator of the NPPP, said in the announcement.

In addition to Kuperman, other signatories of the letter include three former U.S. assistant secretaries of state responsible for nonproliferation and three former members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

No HEU Commercial Product

The MCRE project is being conducted by the Department of Energy together with two companies—TerraPower LLC, which is backed by Bill Gates, and Southern Company, a gas and electric uility based in Atlanta. The experiment is set to run for six months, with the department hoping it could result in breakthroughs for reactors that could aid in cutting down on pollution that’s blamed for climate change.

The entities will reportedly share costs on the MCRE. A spokesperson from TerraPower said the experiment would be conducted at a secure facility that already deals with bomb-grade uranium.

TerraPower is currently developing a Molten Chloride Fast Reactor at its Washington lab that is claimed to use fuel which is less pure. This would pose a far lower risk of proliferation, the spokesperson said.

“There will never be a commercial product from TerraPower that runs on HEU,” the company said.

The MCRE project comes following the NRC certifying the design of the first American-designed small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) earlier this year.

Unlike traditional designs that are large, light-water reactors, the SMR is a small, light-water design that is capable of providing Americans with “a new clean power source to help drive down” greenhouse gas emissions, the department said in a post in January.

The reactor has been developed by NuScale Power, based in Oregon. This is the seventh reactor design that NRC has cleared for use.

Reuters contributed to this report.