Skip to main content

Lapse in Appropriations

Please note that a lapse in appropriations has caused GAO to shut down its operations. Therefore, GAO will not be able to publish reports or otherwise update this website until GAO resumes operations. In addition, the vast majority of GAO personnel are not permitted to work. Consequently, calls or emails to agency personnel may not be returned until GAO resumes operations. For details on how the bid protest process will be handled during the shutdown, please see the legal decisions page. For information related to the GAO Personnel Appeals Board (PAB), please see the PAB webpage.

Nuclear Science: The Feasibility of Using a Particle Accelerator to Produce Tritium

RCED-90-73BR Published: Feb 02, 1990. Publicly Released: Feb 20, 1990.
Jump To:

Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the feasibility of the Department of Energy (DOE) producing tritium, a critical material for nuclear weapons, using a linear accelerator, rather than a nuclear reactor, focusing on: (1) whether DOE adequately considered particle accelerator technologies during its examination of tritium production options; and (2) the cost, safety, and environmental advantages of accelerator production over nuclear reactor production of tritium.

Full Report

Full Report (30 pages)

Media Inquiries

Sarah Kaczmarek
Managing Director
Office of Public Affairs
media@gao.gov

Public Inquiries

Contact Us

Topics

Energy
Atomic energy defense activitiesCost effectiveness analysisEnvironmental policiesLife cycle costsNuclear engineeringNuclear physicsNuclear reactorsNuclear weaponsProduction engineeringRadiation exposure hazards