Japan, U.S. labs to study using low enriched uranium for test reactor

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Laboratories in Japan and the United States will soon launch a joint study on using low enriched uranium fuel to operate a test reactor in Osaka Prefecture instead of highly enriched uranium fuel that can be diverted for weapons use, a Japanese researcher involved in the project said Saturday.

Hironobu Unesaki, professor at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, said the research will be conducted by the Japanese institute and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

The move, which comes amid heightened concerns that HEU fuel used for research purposes may be diverted for use in nuclear terrorism, is expected to find ways to overcome technical problems involving switching to LEU fuel.

In a related development, leaders from around the world are scheduled to meet Monday and Tuesday in Seoul for the Nuclear Security Summit where they are likely to agree on minimizing the use of HEU so as to prevent such fuel from getting into the hands of terrorist groups through research laboratories.

Unesaki said there have been almost no reported cases of switching from HEU fuel to LEU fuel to operate a critical assembly experimental device used for basic research. Read More