The MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory has an idea about how to jump-start the development of a new generation of nuclear reactors. They want to "piggyback" a new research reactor on their existing infrastructure. The normal process for the creation of a new reactor design requires that a license be obtained from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and that a standalone experimental prototype be built. This may require as much as a decade and costs hundreds of millions of dollars. The proposed MIT one megawatt experimental reactor would not be able to produce a fission reaction on its own and so should not have to be licensed by the NRC. This would significantly reduce the time to construct and the cost of the new reactor.
MIT currently operates a six-megawatt research reactor on campus. The new "subcritical" reactor would be built adjacent to the existing reactor's hexagonal core in two rooms which were once used for medical irradiation to testing cancer treatments. The new reactor would be about half the usual size of research reactors. The fission reaction in the new reactor would be initiated by neutron produced by the existing reactor. The researchers hope that construction of the new reactor will only require a simple amendment to the NRC permit for the existing reactor which started operating in 1974.
The purpose of the new reactor is to test designs for a small, transportable molten salt cooled reactor. Such reactors are intended to supply power off the grid to remote communities or worksites. It is hoped that such small molten salt reactors can be simpler, safer and cheaper than conventional power reactors. The new MIT research reactor might eliminate the need to build a full-scale prototype of a commercial version of the molten salt reactor depending on the results of the experiments and the concerns of the NRC regulators.
Safety issues, cost overruns, construction delays, costly regulatory requirements and low prices for fossil fuels have all hurt the nuclear power industry in the U.S. Reactor research in the U.S. has declined along with the nuclear industry. Only a few new reactors are being built and more old reactors are being retired. The public and investors are not enthusiastic about nuclear power generation. In the meantime, China is forging ahead with reactor construction and research. There is concern in the U.S. that our country is falling behind in a critical technology sector. MIT hopes that its research reactor project will help address this concern.
The chief nuclear scientist at the Idaho National Laboratory is skeptical about the licensing approach for the MIT project. He says that the NRC might not accept the claim that a full-scale licensing process and a stand-alone prototype are not necessary for the MIT project. However, he says that he believes that some sort of alternative to the usual licensing process required by the NRC may be needed in order to stimulate research into small molten salt reactors. There are other nuclear facilities in the U.S. that are eager to work on this new type of small reactor.
