Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor Program. Volume III. Environmental Statement Page: 28 of 622
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favorable and the capability of this reactor type to operate on natural uranium is
a major consideration. The AEC recently re-evaluated the heavy water cooled and
moderated system and reaffirmed the position it has held for several years that the
system does not warrant increased consideration in the United States primarily
because of licensability and cost considerations.*
In the following assessments we will attempt to:
(1) Examine the extent of the energy resource to determine whether it is
sufficient to support all, or a significant portion, of the Nation's
energy requirements.
(2) Examine the technology and the amount of research and development
necessary to bring each system to the point of commercial utilization.
Where possible, estimates of the research and development costs and
schedules will be provided. In this regard, the less developed a
system is, the less accurate such estimates will be. In many cases,
insufficient work has been done on the concept to warrant making
other than generalized estimates.
(3) Evaluate the environmental impact of each alternative system to
determine whether the impact is acceptable or what would need to be
done to make it acceptable.
(4) Evaluate the costs and benefits of each system to determine whether it
has the potential to compete economically with existing conventional
electrical energy production systems or with other alternatives. For
many of these systems, only qualitative evaluations of costs and
benefits can be made. Economic competitiveness is an important factor
because energy costs have a major effect on the economic well being of
the consumer.
(5) Finally, bring each system into perspective by assessing its probable
role in the energy supply picture to the year 2000 and beyond.
In a discussion of this sort where many systems are examined which vary in maturity
from fully developed, tested and proven systems to conceptual systems that have
not as yet been developed, certain milestones must be delineated so that meaningful
comparisons can be made. Otherwise, those systems on which little or no work has
been done will inevitably look most attractive since the natural enthusiasm of their
*See response to Professor Richard Wilson, Comment Letter 9, for a detailed
discussion of these points.6P-2
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Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor Program. Volume III. Environmental Statement, report, December 1, 1974; Washington, District of Columbia. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1019855/m1/28/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.