ML20079N467

Requests Permission to Present,At Commission 840127 Meeting, Results of 2-yr Review of Issues Re Highly Enriched U Used at Research Reactors

ML20079N467
Person / Time
Site:	05000142
Issue date:	01/10/1984
From:	Hirsch D COMMITTEE TO BRIDGE THE GAP
To:	Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
Shared Package
ML20079N458	List: ML20079N456 ML20079N467
References
AB60-2-355, NUDOCS 8401300230
Download: ML20079N467 (2)

Text

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. COMMITTEE TO BRIDGE THE GAP 1637 BUT12R AVENUE #203

, LOS ANGElIS, CAUFORNIA 90025

, (213) 478 4 29 as frons Jox 1186 i

Ben Icaond, CA 95005 3 (408) 336-5381 January 10, 1984 Samuel J. Chilk Secretary of the Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 i

y

• RE: JANUARY 27 ColOESSION PEETING Gt HEU USE 3Y RESEARCH REACTGtS i

l j Dear Secretary Chilks

.i

.* It is my understanding that the Commission, as part of its j consideration of methods of implementing its August 1982 Policy Statement on use of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU), heard last month from researen P]

g reactor operators on the subject and has scheduled a January 27 meeting to hear the siews of people in the non-proliferation co==mity.

1 l I would appreciate being permitted to present to the Commission at that meeting results of a two-year review of issues relai,ed to HEU use at research reactors generically that I and some colleagues have recently completed.

The'inforsation we have obtained in the course of that review, and the conclusions i! drawn therefrom, are in certain important respects at right angles i' rom the l '. anterial presented to the Commission in December by the reactor operators.

ll It is our impression that the barriers to conversion to IEU-particularly the asserted costs involved with shipping, fabrication, SAR preparation and defense, and licensing, as well as the time commitments asserted to be associated with the

same-have been considerably overstated. Furthermore, the benefits associated with such conversion have been largely unaddressed.

! Our work has been performed by a group of consagues at the

} University of California (where I an a Visiting Imeturer in energy and

,! nuclear non-proliferation policy), the Southern California Federation of Scientists

(a 30-year-old association of scientists and engineers concerned with proliferation matters), and the Committee to Bridge the Cap (a 14-year-old organization which,

in addition to being the Intervenor in tne UCLA renewal proceeding, nas been

engaged in study of an array of safety and security issues at research reactors na tionally). It is about our generic review that we wish to address the Commission-ll based on review of NEU-related satters at a number of different reserarch zeactors lj around the country.

Ic ll The IEU Study Croup's report discussed last month and prepared by l; a team of four representatives of research reactors, based on what we view as misapprehensions about difficulties associated witn conversion to IEU makes a number of recommendations which would, in our view, gut the Commission's 1982 Statement of Policy on Use of Highly Enriched Uranium at Research Reactors be essentially exempting almost all research reactors from the Policy. We wish to present the Commission with generic information that indicates the Policy need not--and should not-be reversed.

8401300230 840124 PDR ADOCK 05000142 O PDR

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I understand that arrangements have already been ande to hear from Paul:Imventhal and Ted Taylor on the 27th on these matters. I hope that

.i you will permit as to join ther..

I '

In addition, I might suggest the Commission consider inviting a representative of General Atomic to make a presentation. One of the major omissions we saw in the materials presented to the Commission last month was i

the virtual ignoring of the current availability of General Atomic's TRIGA IEU fuel for conversion of both TRIGA and plate-type reactors. General Atomic already has a long history of convtraion of both types of reactors to non-weapons-grade ,

fuel and could, I as sure, provide very useful insight into tne matter under l

-l consideration by the . Commission.

j .

1; I would appreciate it if you could pass this letter on to the Commission ij and I look forward to hearing from you shortly about the 27th. l fi

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1

~

Sin oly,

.i Daniel Hirsch  !

j President i ect Harold Agnew, General Atomic Bob Chesworth, General Atomic Paul leventhal, Nuclear Control Institute <

ll Docket 50-1742 (for information only)

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