Concluding remarks

The papers, all indexed separately, have been taking stock of the overall position as regards the development of fast reactors in Europe, the USSR, the USA and Japan. Good technical progress has been made with the development of this major source of electrical power for the next century. In Europe, there are two large prototypes operating, Phenix and PFR. There is also a 1200 MWe demonstration reactor (Superphenix), which is now continuing with its commissioning programme after the interruption caused by the leak from the fuel storage vessel. The Soviet Union is pressing ahead with its programme; in the USA FFTF has given outstanding reliability and in Japan the construction of Monju is going well and is on schedule for criticality in 1992. There has been general agreement on the basic economic and performance parameters of the fast reactor and its fuel cycle. In particular, after the first of a kind costs have been met, fast reactor and PWR generating costs are likely to be broadly similar, in the absence of large increases in uranium prices. However, the future of fast reactors is uncertain and the reasons for this are discussed. (author)