ORNL is assisting the Army in the development of nuclear power by providing the needed conceptual design of power plants that would be competitive with other types of power generation facilities at remote locations. The ORNL design is a 10-megawatt pressured-water reactor using highly enriched UO2, that was built and tested at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. This location served as a research and development facility and as a training medium for operators while providing a portion of the power for Fort Belvoir. Experience gained in its operation assisted the Army in the design for follow-on pressurized water reactors located at remote locations in Greenland, Alaska and Antarctica. ORNL has continued to test advanced fuels in a pressurized water loop in the Oak Ridge Research Reactor.
ORNL is supporting the AEC in a continuing program to improve methods for the ultimate disposal of high level waste, that resulted from the chemical reprocessing of fuel elements after their use in a nuclear reactor. The experiments involve the use of irradiated fuel elements sealed in stainless steel containers to simulate high level solid waste. The fuel elements are to be replaced twice a year to maintain a high radiation dose and to give personnel experience in handling the sources with special equipment. Overall, the experimental program will be conducted in such a manner that it represents no hazard to personnel carrying out the work or to the public.
Liane Russell, of the ORNL Biology Division, was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. As a recognized geneticist, she has been primarily interested in the radiation effects on fertility and embryonic development, radiation genetics of the mouse, and mammalian genetics. She is the only woman scientist from the U.S. who presented a paper at the International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1955.