§16271 Nuclear Energy

Summary

The Secretary must run civilian nuclear research, development, demonstration, and help move technologies into commercial use. The programs must support research facilities for universities, National Laboratories, and private companies; keep nuclear R&D and infrastructure at labs and colleges; provide technical ways to lower the chance of nuclear weapons spreading; improve public safety margins for nuclear systems; cut environmental impacts; help transfer lab technologies to industry; and let private companies work with National Laboratories to test new reactor ideas to solve technical questions tied to those goals. Key terms: Advanced nuclear reactor — a nuclear energy device that may be a fission reactor (including prototype plants as defined in 10 C.F.R. 50.2 and 52.1 or successor rules) with significant improvements over reactors operating on December 27, 2020 (examples: more inherent safety, less waste, better fuel and materials, more tolerance for loss of fuel cooling, greater reliability and resilience, more resistance to proliferation, higher thermal efficiency, less cooling-water use and other environmental effects, ability to serve electric and nonelectric uses, modular sizes, and flexible operation to match demand and work with intermittent renewables), or a fusion reactor, or a radioisotope power system that uses heat from radioactive decay. Commission — the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Fast neutron — a neutron with kinetic energy above 100 kiloelectron volts. National Laboratory — the meaning in section 15801 of this title, except that for Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia National Laboratories it means only their civilian activities. Neutron flux — the intensity of neutron radiation measured as a rate of neutrons flowing over an area. Neutron source — a research machine that supplies neutron irradiation for materials and nuclear physics research and for testing advanced materials, nuclear fuels, and related reactor components.