Research Reactor License Renewal Challenges

Posted on July 23, 2014 by radams| 5 Comments

By Rod Adams
The process for renewing research and test reactor (RTR) licenses in the United States has been subject to lengthy delays and periodic backlogs since the early 1980s. Despite the apparent time invested in improvement efforts, the process does not seem to be getting better very fast. The difficulty, schedule uncertainty, and cost of renewing research reactor licenses adds to the burden of owning and operating research reactors. The scale of the challenge may contribute to regrettable institutional decisions that maintaining operable facilities is not worth the trouble.
Here is the background that led me to those conclusions:http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2014/07/23/research-reactor-license-renewal-challenges/