Fast flux test facility radioisotope production and medical applications

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) is a 400-MW, sodium-cooled reactor that operated successfully from 1982 to 1992, conducting work in support of the liquid-metal reactor industry by developing and testing fuel assemblies, control rods, and other core reactor components. Upon termination of this program, the primary mission of FFTF ended, and it was placed in a standby mode in 1993. However, in January 1997 the U.S. Secretary of Energy requested that FFTF be evaluated for a future mission that would consist of a primary goal of producing tritium for nuclear defense applications and a secondary goal of supplying medical isotopes for research and clinical applications. Production by FFTF of tritium for U.S. nuclear weapons would augment the dual-track strategy now under consideration for providing a long-term tritium supply in the United States (consisting of a light water reactor option and an accelerator option). A decision by the Secretary of Energy on proceeding with steps leading toward the possible reactivation of FFTF will be made before the end of 1998