PLUTONIUM-238 PRODUCTION TARGET DESIGN STUDIES

Abstract

A new supply chain is planned for plutonium-238 using existing reactors at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and existing chemical recovery facilities at ORNL. Validation and testing activities for new irradiation target designs have been conducted in three phases over a 2 year period to provide data for scale-up to production. Target design, qualification, target fabrication, and irradiation of fully-loaded targets have been accomplished. Data from post-irradiation examination (PIE) supports safety analysis and irradiation of future target designs.