Reconciling foreign and domestic nuclear energy policies
A major shift of policy just prior to the November 1976 election was announced by President Ford. The primary objective is to keep plutonium out of the hands of terrorists groups and unstable governments. One of the major actions ordered by the President is a reassessment of the government's and industry's longtime intention to reprocess and recycle spent nuclear fuel to obtain plutonium. The president said, ''reprocessing and recycling of plutonium should not proceed unless there is sound reason to conclude that the world community can effectively overcome the associated risks of proliferation...I have decided that the U. S. should no longer regard reprocessing of used nuclear fuel to produce plutonium as a necessary and inevitable step in the nuclear fuel cycle.'' To change domestic programs to conform to his new plan, the President said he had directed ERDA; to change its policies and programs which had been based on the assumption reprocessing would take place; to encourage prompt action to expand spent fuel storage facilities in order to assure utilities that they need not be concerned about shutdown of nuclear reactors because of delays; and to identify the research efforts needed on the feasibility of recovering the energy value from used nuclear fuel without separating plutonium. Probably most important of all, however, Ford directed ERDA ''to begin immediately to define a reprocessing and recycle evaluation program'' consistent with meeting the nation's antiproliferation objectives. The President,however, was said to have adopted the position urged upon him by ERDA and the Federal Energy Administration; to ask all nuclear supplier nations to join with the U. S. in a three-year moratorium on the export of any reprocessing or uranium enrichment technology or equipment while at the same time going ahead with a U. S. government demonstration program. (MCW)
- OSTI ID:
- 7340945
- Journal Information:
- Public Util. Fortn.; (United States), Vol. 98:11
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
NUCLEAR ENERGY
ENERGY POLICY
NUCLEAR FUELS
REPROCESSING
USA
CONTROL
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
PLUTONIUM
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RECYCLING
SABOTAGE
SAFETY
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
US ERDA
US FEA
US NRC
ACTINIDES
AGREEMENTS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY
FUELS
MANAGEMENT
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
REACTOR MATERIALS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
290600* - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy
050800 - Nuclear Fuels- Spent Fuels Reprocessing