The purpose of the proposed policy is to promote U.S. nuclear weapons nonproliferation policy objectives, specifically by seeking to reduce, and eventually eliminate, HEU from civilian commerce. DOE and the Department of State have evaluated various Management Alternatives for implementing this policy. A key element of DOE and Department of State decisionmaking is a thorough understanding of the policy considerations and environmental impacts that may be associated with implementation of the proposed action. The Draft EIS was issued in April 1995. A major element of this program was the provision of research reactor technology and the HEU necessary to fuel the research reactors.
Research reactors play a vital role in important medical, agricultural, and industrial applications.
For example, research reactors are a vital tool in cancer therapy and radioimmunoassay blood testing. There are about 30,000 medical procedures per day in North America using medical isotopes produced in research reactors in other countries. There are also about 8,000 to 10,000 such procedures per day in Europe and a similar number on other continents. Figure S-1 provides examples of the uses and benefits of research reactors. In this way, the United States maintained complete control over the HEU that it provided to other nations.