ANS President Lake testifies on DOE's FY2002 budget
The recommendations were presented by Dr. James A. Lake, President of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), who today gave testimony on the Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Authorization Request for the Department of Energy (DOE), at a Hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science - Subcommittee on Energy.
In prepared testimony, Lake said that ANS recommends substantial increases in funding, above the FY-2002 Budget Request, for three specific programs: the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI), University Infrastructure and Research support, and development of the next generation of advanced nuclear energy systems (Generation IV) referred to in the budget as Nuclear Energy Technologies.
"Whereas the U.S. nuclear industry is responsible for the cost-effective and safe operation of nuclear power plants, government plays an important role in supporting long-term, high-risk R&D to improve the technology," Lake said.
He noted that the U.S. government has three primary reasons for interest in nuclear energy, science and technology:
- trained manpower and state-of-the-art technology are vital to carrying out government nuclear operations
- government desires to exercise world leadership in nuclear matters; this requires involvement in international R&D programs
- government has broad responsibility to assure adequate, affordable and clean energy supplies and to assure that nuclear power remains a viable option for future deployment
Addressing the need for manpower training, Lake noted that many technical specialists are nearing retirement. He stated the importance of replacing these people with trained young people who can carry nuclear science and technology applications forward for even greater benefit to Americans and the world. He noted that in the last decade more than one-half of university research reactors have closed for lack of support. He stressed the importance of adequate support for the remaining 28 U.S. university research reactors, where undergraduate and graduate students can receive training.
Lake also addressed the need to accelerate development of advanced reactor systems (Generation IV). "This may be a key role for the U.S. to play in exercising world leadership to promulgate the next generation of emissions-free nuclear power technology that is cheaper, safer, minimizes wastes and removes the potential for proliferation of nuclear materials in a sustainable fuel cycle," he said.
Lake provided a table comparing the FY-2001 Appropriation, the FY-2002 Request, and ANS-Recommended Budget levels for FY-2002 for the three programs.
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The ANS-Supported Budget Recommendation for nuclear energy R&D is substantially higher than the DOE FY-2002 budget request |
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Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology Research and Development |
FY-2001 Appropriation ($1000) |
FY-2002 Request ($1000) |
ANS-Recommended FY-2002 Budget ($1000) |
| Nuclear Energy Research Initiative | 34,826 | 18,079 | 60,000 |
| University Research Support | 11,974 | 11,974 | 30,200 |
| Generation IV (Nuclear Energy Technologies) | 7,483 | 4,500 | 50,000 |
