Problems and future plan on material development of beryllium in materials testing reactors

Beryllium has been utilized as a moderator and/or reflector in a number of material testing reactors. The attractive nuclear properties of beryllium are its low atomic number, low atomic weight, low parasitic capture cross section for thermal neutrons, readiness to part with one of its own neutrons, and good neutron elastic scattering characteristics. However, it is difficult to reprocess irradiated beryllium because of high induced radioactivity. Disposal has also been difficult because of toxicity issues and special nuclear material controls. In this paper, problems and future plans of beryllium technology are introduced for nuclear reactors. (author)