, since no power plants have been built in the U.S. since 1973, largely due to concerns about nuclear waste, and new nuclear power plants are unlikely to be approved until a safe solution for disposing of the increasing stores of nuclear waste is developed (Kestenbaum).
Los Alamos is working on not only finding ways to reduce the amount of stored nuclear waste, but also ôtransforming radioactive materials into less harmful substancesö to make nuclear energy a safer energy alternative (ôNuclear Technology and Applications Research at Los Alamos National Laboratoryö). The challenge of identifying reactor materials for the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) is that those materials must be able to withstand ôhigh-energy proton and neutron fluxes at temperatures ranging from 400¦ to 600¦ C.;ö Los Alamos is addressing that need by assessing the effect of high-energy proton and neutron irradiation on structural materials such as ferritic martensitic steels, austenitic steels, and refractory materials (ôNuclear Technology and Applications Research at Los Alamos National Laboratoryö). In the arena of space, Los Alamos is researching safe and reliable forms of nuclear space power and propulsion produced by space fission systems to enable space missions where solar power is not available (ôNuclear Technology and Applications Research at Los Alamos National Laboratoryö).
Several generations of nuclear reactors are currently in use around the world. Generation II (Gen II) refers to the conventional light water reactors that have a once-through fuel cycle (Kim et al. 6). Gen III refers to advanced light water reactors that operate more efficiently and cost effectively than Gen II, with the potential for fuel recycling; Gen III reactors, however, are much fewer in number (Kim et al. 6). Gen IV is the designation for reactor technologies of the future that will convert or breed nuclear fuels, eliminating concerns about natur...