Ridding research reactors of highly enriched uranium to take decades longer than projected

Noted: A 45% fuel design has already been “validated” by bodies such as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the panel notes, so it could be used in relatively short order. And committee members stress that the step would be only a stop-gap measure to improve nuclear security in the short run. “This is not instead of, but complementary to the ultimate goal of using low enrichment uranium in all reactors,” said Paul Wilson, a committee member and nuclear engineer at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, at the press briefing.