Testimony to Blue Ribbon Commission Subcommittee on Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology (October 2010)
On Tuesday, October 12, GSP Senior Staff Scientist Ed Lyman had a second opportunity to present testimony before the Reactor and Fuel Cycle Technology Subcommittee of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future.
The Blue Ribbon Commission was formed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu "to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle ... and recommend a plan for moving ahead." The Subcommittee is co-chaired by Prof. Per Peterson of UC Berkeley and former Senator Pete Domenici.
Lyman spoke on a panel addressing the proliferation and security risks associated with new fuel cycle technologies. The other panel members were James Acton of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Robert Bari of Brookhaven National Laboratory; Richard Garwin, a UCS board member testifying on his own behalf; and Robert Gallucci, president of the MacArthur Foundation.
A summary of Lyman's testimony and his Powerpoint presentation can be found here.
Lyman notes in particular that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently approved, over the objection of Commissioner Bill Magwood, a staff request to develop a regulatory initiative proposed by industry that would weaken security requirements for the transport of nuclear fuel assemblies containing plutonium—so-called MOX fuel. UCS opposes relaxing security standards on the transport of materials that if stolen could be used by terrorists to make nuclear weapons.
