Chair: Mary Neumayr, URENCO
Vice-Chair: Tom DePonty, Framatome
Senior Fellow: Michael McMurphy, Orano
As part of its initiatives to enhance value to its expanding membership and to recognize the growing importance of adequate and timely supply of advanced nuclear fuel, USNIC is expanding the focus of its long standing Backend Working Group to include both the frontend and backend of the nuclear fuel cycle. In turn, the Backend Working Group will be renamed as the Fuel Cycle Working Group and will include the combined membership of both task forces.This additional focus area will be provided by restructuring the current working group into three separate task forces: Front-End Task Force, Back-End Task Force and Environmental Task Force. These task forces will have separate membership and will meet and develop their initiatives and action plan as deemed appropriate. USNIC members are invited to join each separate task force.
The Fuel Cycle Working Group and its respective task forces provide a mechanism for USNIC membership to share information on technical, business & industry, and policy developments that have an important impact on the U.S. nuclear industry.
The USNIC Front End Task Force will provide a renewed focus on the nuclear fuel cycle supply chain for both the existing fleet and for the deployment of a new generation of advanced reactors. For example, the Front-End Task Force will focus on the availability of the U.S. supply of uranium and on the U.S. DOE efforts to establish a Uranium Reserve as required by recent legislation passed by Congress. In addition, the critical issue of the supply of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) needed for advanced reactors will be a critical topic and focus of the task force.
