The Federal Government must take action to assure the future adequate supply of special nuclear materials for nuclear weapons. Existing statutes permit the construction of advanced defense produc¬ tion reactors and the reprocessing of commercial spent fuel for the production of special materials. Such actions would not only benefit the US nuclear reactor manufacturers, but also the US electric utilities that use nuclear reactors. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Positive action by the Federal Government is

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... essary to provide special nuclear materials production to assure the continued effectiveness of US nuclear weapons. We explore the institutional and societal issues associated with such action in three nonexclusive options. The first option is merely a renovation of existing facilities and has already been started. The second option would construct advanced defense production reactors at the present Federal reservations, thus offering hope of preserving the competitive edge of US nuclear reactor manufacturers. The third option would involve Federal reprocessing of commercial spent fuel , thereby saving US commercial nuclear power generation from extinction by breaking the reprocessing impasse. None of these options is contrary to present statutes, but all involve political controversy. The antinuclear-power, antinuclear-weapons, antibig-business, antimilitary, and arms-control communities can be expecjted to form a coalition. Confrontations and demonstrations can be expected by activist groups at nuclear weapons installations such as the Rocky Flats Plant. 1