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The Department of Energy today released a report describing a roadmap for developing accelerator transmutation of waste (ATW) technology and outlining the many issues associated with ATW that must be resolved in order to determine its future technical viability. The report, "A Roadmap for Developing Accelerator Transmutation of Waste Technology," was mandated by Congress in the 1999 Energy and Water Appropriations Act.

If ATW is pursued, future development of the technology should be based on the findings of the science-based roadmap in the report. The report identifies a six-year, $281 million research and development project needed to address open technical issues. The report also notes that ATW's potential role is as a complement to geologic disposal. Any decision to pursue ATW would follow evaluation of technical viability, costs, nonproliferation issues, and leverage for enhancing geologic disposal.

Upon releasing the report, Under Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz said, "The team's work on the ATW technology roadmap is thorough, based on extensive international input, and has provided us with real insights into the technological challenges that must be resolved to further address the viability of an ATW system."

Transmutation of waste is a process in which long-lived radioisotopes are converted to short-lived radioisotopes by neutrons from an accelerator. If ATW technology could be successfully implemented to overcome all technical issues, it could potentially facilitate the long-term management of a repository system.

The roadmap report identifies several technical issues that must be resolved and outlines a six-year science based program to begin addressing these issues. In addition, the report identifies possible collaborative efforts with other countries; outlines the institutional challenges of an ATW program; discusses possible benefits to other programs; and provides an estimate of the life-cycle costs to transmute and process the current projected inventory of civilian spent nuclear fuel.

The report concludes that implementation of ATW technology will require years of additional research and will require a significant investment in research and development funding. In addition, complex institutional and public acceptance issues regarding acceptance of this technology would have to be addressed.

The report is a synthesis of information gathered from worldwide experts, national laboratory staff and individual consultants on developing ATW technology and is available on the Energy Department's home page atwww.rw.doe.gov

- DOE -

R-99-292