ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (74)513
Vol.1974/0088

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COM(74)513final
COMMISSION OPTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Brussels.17April1974
Proposalfora
. •COUNCILDECISION
adoptingaprogrammeofresearchandeducationforthe
EuropeanAtomicEnergyCommunityonplutoniumrecycling
inlight-waterreactors
(indirectnuclearproject)
(PresentedbytheCommissiontotheCouncil)
C0.I(7^)513final

CX-ilSSION
OFTHE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIESCOM(74)513finalIII/151/74-E
PROPOSAL FORAPROGRAMME
OPPLUTONIUM RECYCLING INLIGHTWATERREACTORS
1975-78
INTRODUCTION
Asaresultoftheincreasinggenerationofnuclearpoweroverthecoming
years,everlargerquantitiesofplutoniumwillbefindingtheirwayonto
thefissilematerialsmarket «
Themostprofitable wayofusingthisfissilesubstancewillbeasafast
reactorfuelvOnaworldscale,however,thelackofsufficientinstalled
fastreactorcapacityduringthenext10--20yearswillleadelectricity
producerstorecyclethismaterialinlight-waterreactors.
Theadventofsuchauseofplutoniumonanindustrialscaleoffersseveral
advantages :
1.Itsuppliesanelementofflexibilityinthefuellingoflight--water
reactors,whileatthesametimeenablingfissileresourcestobeused
togreateradvantageovertheshortterm.
2.Itisamodeofstockpiling .
3.Itfacilitatestheintroduction ofanall--plutoniumfastreactorfuel
cycleintotheindustrialworld.
SeveralR&DprogrammesarecurrentlyunderwayinVariousMemberStates,
althoughthescaleoftheseprogrammesandtheirprogresstodatevary
enormouslyfromonecountrytoanother.

COM(74)^13final
111/151/74-E
Primarily,theproposedCommunityprogrammeisintendedtobecomplementary
incharacter.
Itisdividedintotwoparts:,
(a)generalprogrammedesignedtosolvegeneralproblemsassociatedwiththe
useofplutonium;
(b)basicprogrammedesignedprimarilytofillinthegapsinexisting
scientificandtechnicalknowledge.
Althoughtheproposedfundsaremodest,theCommissionhopesthattheywill
facilitatepoolingoftheexperienceacquiredinthisfield.
Theproposeddurationoftheprogrammeisfouryears.
*
* *
1.Generalprogramme
Theaimofthisprogrammeistostudygeneralproblemsassociatedwith
theuseofplutonium.
1.1Plutoniummarketresearch
-mediumandlong-termplutoniumproductionestimates,takinginto
accountirradiatedfuelproductionandreprocessing ;
-estimateofpriorityplutoniumrequirements forfastreactors;
-forwardstudyoftheexpectedutilizationofsurplusplutonium,
takingintoaccountthevariousfactorsinfluencingitsuse,e.g.,
extracostofplutoniumfuel,supplyofuranium-235 >etc.
./•

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^Environmental problems
Theenvironmental problemsposed,bytheplutoniumfuel-cycle
industriesareofafarmoreseriousnaturethanthoseraised "by
theuraniumfuel-cycleindustry;nevertheless therewillhaveto
begeneralacceptancebysocietyoftheplutoniumfuelindustryin
theeconomicandindustrialcontextbeforefastbreedersareput
onthemarket.Asplutoniumrecyclinginlight-waterreactors
representsatransitional solutionbetweenthenuclearindustrybased
onuraniumandonebasedonplutonium,itisimportanttostart
worknowontheenvironemntal problemswhichmaybepresentedby
theindustrialscaleuseofthistechnology.Moreover,inthisway
theintroduction offastbreedersonanindustrial scalewillbe
facilitated .
Itwouldbeusefultoarrange,inaCommunitycontext,acomparison
ofthedifficulties encountered in:
-obtainingoperatinglicencesforfuelfabricationplantsand
plutonium-fuelled powerplants,orinthecourseoftheir
operation;
-transporting plutonium,intherawstate(nitrateoroxide?)or
intheformoffinishedfuelelements;
-storingplutonium(including"requalification ");
-attemptingtoensureprotectionagainstanyactofsabotageor
piracy;
andtoseekasolutiontotheseproblemseitherthroughresearchor
bymeansoftestsagreedonjointly.
Aprogrammetoharmonizeregulations andtoinformthepublicmay
alsoprovenecessary.
•/

COM(74)513final
111/151/74^
Thegeneralprogrammeistobefinancedentirely "bytheCommunitytothe
amountof800000u.a.,i.e.,200000u.a.peryear,ofwhichabout
25$willbespentonstudiesand75$onexperiments.
2.Basicprogramne
Theaimofthisprogrammeistosupplyindustryandtheelectricity
producerswiththescientificandtechnicalknowledgestillneededfor
therationaluseofplutoniumfuelsinlight-waterreactors.
2.1Hithertounsolvedscientificandtechnicalproblemslikelytoarise
duringplutoniumrecycling
2.1.1Higherplutoniumisotopesanddecayproducts
Atpresentcertaindata(e.g.,cross-sections )relatingto
higherplutoniumisotopes(Pu^^,Pu^®,Pu.^andPu^^)and
theirdecayproducts(Am^\Am,Am,andCm^^)
areinsufficient bothforcalculatingcoreperformance
(includingburn-updetermination )andfordimensioning
productionlines(shielding)orcontainers.
Information ontheseisotopescanalsobeobtainedby
simulatingrepeatedrecyclingbyusingeithersyntheticrods
or,preferably,asecondgenerationfuel-element .
Programmeforobtainingimproveddatabymeansof
researchcontractswithindustry,researchcentres,
etc.,onacost-sharing basis.
Communityfinancing: 250000u.a.
./.

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2.1.2Comparisonofcomputercode?availabletoelectri^*+7
producersandfuelmanufacturers
Electricity producerswill"becalledupontoplayaveryactive
roleindetermining plutoniumreloads.Severalelectricity
producershavetheirowncomputercodesandacomparative
assessmentofthelattermaybeadvisable.Somefuelmanu­
facturersarealsointerestedincollaborating inthis
programme.Acertainamountofreadjustment maybenecessary
onthebasisofin-pileexperiments.
Comparative assessment andmeasurement
programmetobeconductedonacost-
sharingbasiswiththeelectricity
producers.
Communitycontribution : 50000u.a.
2.2Safetyandcontrol
Certainproblems(e.g.,thelossofcoolantaccident)associated
withsafetyandcontrolinlight-waterreaotorsdifferdependingon
whethertheyarefuelledonplutoniumoruranium.Thereisneedfor
acomparativetechnicalstudytobecarriedoutontheproblems
raisedbythepresenceofasubstantialquantityofplutoniuminthe
core,withreferencetothecontrolandsafetysystemandthehealth
protectionequipment,inordertoseewhatmodifications are
necessary.Thisstudyshouldalsoshowtowhatextentitwouldbe
possible,atalaterdate,toreturntotheuseofuraniumfuel.
Thestudieswillbebasedonspecificcasesandwillnotbe
cond\ictedinageneralcontext.Theywillbecarriedoutinclose
collaboration withtheelectricityproducers.Shouldtheneedarise,
thesestudiescouldprofitablybefollowedupbyoneormoreseries
ofmeasurements onthedynamicbehaviourofplutonium-fuelled power
plants(usingeitherapowerplantoramock-up).
Communitycontribution : 1000000u.a

-6- COM(74)513final
1'
Post-irradiation examination ofplutoniumfuels
Inviewoftheanxietyexpressed "bytheelectricityproducersand
thefuel-elementfabricationindustry,andCommissionconsidersit
advisabletoassumeresponsibility forsomeofthecostofthe
post-irradiation examinations ofplutoniumfuelsandpossibly
specialrodsintendedtosupplyinformation onspecificproblemsof
generalinterest.
Thiscontribution shouldassistinspeedinguptherateatwhichthe
entireCommunityindustryacquiresgeneralindustrialinformation on
high-plutonium fuelelements,thusensuringthattheinformationis
availableintimetodealwith,potentialproblemsarisingoutofthe
useofplutonium-core reactors.
Naturally,thedefraymentofthesecostsbytheCommunitywillbe
conditional onajointagreementbythefuelsupplierandthe
electricityproducertoensurethatsufficientdataaremade
availabletorenderthe•examinations meaningful,subjecttothe
provisionthattheindustrialandcommercialinterestsofthe
partiesconcernedareproperlysafeguarded .Theresultsofthetests
willbeplacedatthedisposalofCommunityfirmswhoarecoveredby
theregulationsgoverningthedissemination ofinformationlaiddown
inArticle13oftheEuratomTreaty(communication).
Thelaboratories responsibleforcarryingouttheseexaminations
willbeappointedbnthebasisoftheresultsofaninvitationto
tendersentouttoalltheCommunitylaboratories .
Theworkistobedoneunderresearchcontractsonabasisofcost-
sharingwithelectricityproducersand/orfuelproducers.
Allowingfortheprobableincreaseinthenumberofelementstobe
examinedduringthe'yearscoveredbytheprogramme,thebreakdown
ofCommunityfinancingcouldbeasfollows:

-7- COM(74 )513final
III/151/74-E
First andsecond years
Third andfourth years
i.e. ,forafour-year programme400 000u.a .peryear
800000u.a .peryear
2400 000u.a .
*
* *
Total Community contribution tothebasic programme :
3700 000u.a .
3.Promotion ofaconcerted Plutonium recycling policy ina
Community framework
Several electricity producers have embarked onvarious recycling
programmes inasmall number oflight-water reactors .
Significant savings could beachieved byacomparison ,inthe
respective national contexts ,oftheresults obtained under these
programmes .
TheCommission will examine theprerequisites foracomparison of
this type ;itwill make every effort tosmooth outthedifficulties
arising outofthevery unequal state ofknowledge from onecountry
toanother andwill endeavour tocreate theconditions necessary for
afruitful exchange ofinformation .
Once theresults areavailable ,theCommission undertakes toforward
totheCouncil asupplementary proposal tothepresent programme with
theaimofpromoting aconcerted policy ontheuse ofplutonium
within theCommunity .
This proposal will probably bematched bysubstantial financial backing
inorder toencourage electricity producers tocollaborate insuch a
programme . /

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111/151/74-E
4.Financialaidrequired
Thefundsandstaffrequiredforthisprogrammeareasfollows?
νOperatingbudget :4500000u.a.
Staff i(2A+1B)
Staffexpenditure :287000u.a.
Administrative expenses :12000u.a.
Reserve :678000u.a.
TOTALfundsrequired 55°5000u.a.

COM(74 )513final
111/151/74-E
PROPOSAL FOR ACOUNCIL DECISION ADOPTING APROGRAM K3OP
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOR ThEEUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY
COMMUNITY ONPLUTONIUM RECYCLING INLIGHT-WATER REACTORS
(INDIRECT NUCLEAR PROJECT )
TheCouncil oftheEuropean Communities ,
Having regard ,totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Atomic Energy -
Community ,andinparticular Article 7thereof ;
Having regard totheproposal oftheCommission presented after
consultation with theScientific andTechnical Committee ;
Having regard ,totheOpinion oftheEuropean Parliament (optional );
Whereas ,under thecommon scientific andtechnological policy ,the
multi-annual programme ofresearch and .education isoneofthe
Community 'sessential ways ofcontributing towards therapid
development andgrowth ofnuclear industries andtowards the
acquisition anddissemination ofknowledge inthenuclear sector ;
I
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
Article 1
Aprogramme ofresearch andeducation onplutonium recycling in
light-water reactors ,assetoutinAnnexes IandII,shall beadopted
foraperiod offour years starting on1January 1975 *TheAnnexes
form anintegral part ofthis Decision .
./

-2- COM(74)513firm
III/151/74-E
Article2
Fortheimplementation ofthisprogramme,themaximumamountofthe
expenditure commitmentsshall'be55^5000unitsofaccountandthe
maximumstaffshallbethreepersons.Theunitofaccountshall
beasdefinedinArticle10oftheFinancialRegulationof
25April1973applicabletotheGeneralBudgetoftheEuropean
Communities .
Article3
TheprogrammedefinedinAnnexIshallbereviewedattheendof
thesecondyear,accordingtotheappropriateprocedures,
particularlyinthelightofthedecisionsreachedattheSummit
ConferenceinParis.
DoneatBrussels
FortheCouncil
ThePresident

C0M(74)513final
111/151/74-E
i
AHBEXI
J
INDIRECT MJCLEARPROJECT
PLUTONIUM RECYCLINGISLIGHT-WATER REACTORS
Amaximumamountof4907000unitsofaccount,plusareserveof
678000unitsofaccount,shall "beassignedtothisprogramme,for
whichthestaffshallcomprisethreepersons.
Hiepurposeoftheprogrammeshall"bethejointacquisitionofthe
datastillneededtoensurethejudicioususeofplutoniumpriorto
theoperationoffastreactorpowerstationsonanindustrialscale.
Theprogrammeshallcomprisetwoparts:
(a)theobjectofthefirEtpartwillbetosolvethegeneral
problemssurroundingtheuseofplutonivjn;
(b)theobjectofthesecondpartwillbetoacquirethe
scientificandtechnicaldatastillneededonplutonium
recyclinginlight-waterreactors.
Theprogrammewillbeimplemented undercontract.
AMEEXII
TABLEOFMAXIMUMEXPENDITURE ANDSTAFF
«
!Programme
1 »->
.....{Commitments j1
Staffj_ !
»
jPlutoniumrecyclinginI5585000u.a.!i
i
3j
(
|light-waterreactorst !
f
i
\