Berkeley Nuclear Research Center

Mission: Critical Sustainability Issues for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Safety, Security, Proliferation Risk Reduction

• Nondestructive Assay using Beta-Delayed Gamma-Ray Signatures to Quantify Fissile Isotopes in Spent Fuel (collaboration with B. Ludewigt, LBNL, and S. Tobin, LANL)
• Beta-delayed neutron spectroscopy using trapped radioactive ions

Nonproliferation Detection

• Triplet-Triplet Exciton Annihiliation for Pulse Shape Discrimination in Scintillator Detectors (collaboration with J. Siegrist, LBNL)

Creating Knowledge and Information to Inform National Policy Decisions

• Nuclear Forensics
  • Database Development: Surrogate Measurements on Activation Products in Steel
  • Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry
  • Policy Discussion

Enhanced Waste Disposition

• Systems assessment for advanced nuclear fuel cycle concept, including investigation of a pyrometallurgical processing system is currently under development at KAERI for treatment of spent nuclear fuel (collaboration with the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute)

Advanced Fuel Cycle Concepts

• Thorium-based fuel cycle options

o existing thorium reactor design - PWR, BWR, HWR, FBR and HTGR - experience and utilization performance

o new thorium reactor designs and expected performance - Thorium-PBR, MSBR, small thorium reactors

o useful thorium fuel cycle options - once through U-Th and Pu/Th fuel cycles

o proliferation and security issues related to thorium cycle

o front- and back -end issues - fuel fabrication, reprocessing, waste management

• Advanced LWR concepts with high conversion ratio and negative reactivity feedback (collaboration with Mujid Kazimi, MIT and Thomas Downar, UM).