Donald R. Riley, pioneer in fast reactor nuclear power (John Shanahan)

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Donald R. Riley 1929 - 2014 Pioneer in advanced nuclear power technologies.

Knoxville, Tennessee

This is a story of a very successful pioneer in the development of nuclear power. It is best told starting with his grandfather and on down to his grandchildren. Don Riley contributed in many ways to making America great. Those who work to prohibit use of nuclear power cannot make this claim.

Similar stories will be told about many pioneers in nuclear energy.

1

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Grandfather, Karl Oelhaf, first generation American Karl Oelhaf, Donald R. Riley’s grandfather, immigrated to the United States from Germany in the 1890s.

He was co-founder of Meier & Oelhaf Marine Repair in New York City.

Grosspapa Oelhaf’s dining room chair at their home in New Jersey in the 1930s. The chair has stayed in the family and will be passed on to Don Riley’s grandchildren.

Meier & Oelhaf Marine Repair Company serviced ocean liners coming to New York from around the world. Karl Oelhaf, came to the USA seeking opportunity and helped make this country great.

Others work to deny use of plentiful, clean, affordable nuclear energy that is essential for the USA to maintain a competitive global economy. Don Riley dedicated his life to fighting these anti-nuclear organizations.

2

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Don Riley’s father, Don Riley, Sr., Power Plant Engineer for Manhattan Project

Don Riley’s father, Don Riley, Sr. graduated from the Webb School of Naval Architecture, a scholarship only college, and became a power plant engineer for Jersey Central Power & Light Company.

During WW II, he was hired to build the world’s largest steam plant ever constructed in one operation at the time for a top secret project in Oak Ridge, Tennesse that the US Army called the Clinton Engineer Works, later known as the Manhattan Project.

Don Riley remembered the drive from New Jersey to Tennessee. It was 800 miles on country roads at 35 mph. His mother had a broken ankle, his father a broken collar bone. His aunt drove!

3

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Don Riley at Oak Ridge High School and University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Above: Don Riley pole-vaulting at University of Tennessee.

Don Riley went to Oak Ridge High School. The scientists working on the Manhattan Project demanded that the Oak Ridge High School have the best teachers in the nation. Don’s interests were in mathematics and science. He was an out-standing athlete in track and field.

He was the first Boy Scout to be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in Oak Ridge in 1944.

4

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Don Riley at University of Tennessee and U. of Cincinnati He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1950.

He earned seven Varsity Letters in Track and Field.

He earned a Master’s Degree in Applied Mechanics from the University of Cincinnati in 1958 after several years working in industry. His Masters Thesis was on shell structures, which he used to solve design problems in nuclear fuel. The quality of his thesis was above that typically required for a Masters Degree at the time.

5

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Marriage and Family

Don Riley married Betty Robertson in Tennessee in 1952. They have four children and eight grandchildren. Betty has been a superb organizer and librarian for Don’s technical library.

Don and Betty at their home in Knoxville, TN in April, 2011.

Some of their children and grandchildren are nuclear engineers. One grandson is a world famous violinist, who has many of his grandfather’s outstanding management skills.

6

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project, 1950s

General Electric received a contract in 1951 to develop nuclear powered jet engines. The project was named, Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion, ANP. Don Riley, shown below left, worked on ANP with his friend, Jack Hope. The advantages of nuclear powered aircraft are: practically never have to stop to refuel and greatly reduced weight.

7

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor, SEFOR, 1960s – 70s

Don Riley worked on the core design for the very important Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor, SEFOR, project. The objective was to test the feasibility of breeder reactors in the production of electricity. It was the first reactor to use plutonium instead of uranium. A fast breeder reactor such as SEFOR uses fast neutrons for fission, making it possible for the nuclear reactor to produce more new fuel than it consumes. Experiments with SEFOR demonstrated passive safe shutdown characteristics of oxide fuel. Other experiments with the Experimental Breeder Reactor II, EBR II, proved passive safe shutdown characteristics of metallic fuel.

Don always reminded his audiences that if Chernobyl had been a fast reactor like those in the United States, it would have shut itself down safely, passively and not exploded.

8

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project, CRBRP, 1970s

Don Riley was the Project Manager for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project for about five years in the 1970s. During that time, his superb project management skills kept many organizations working together smoothly and the project close to on time and on budget.

When the White House and Congress slowly terminated the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project 1979 to 1982, most of the engineering had been completed and some of the equipment delivered.

In an amazing act of destruction, the government quickly destroyed the equipment so that it could not be used for any other fast reactor project around the world.

When the White House decided to scrap CRBRP for purely political reasons, they removed Don Riley and let the project run wild for a year or more.

APRIL 27, 1979 Office of the White House Press Secretary STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER The Clinch River Breeder Reactor is technically unsound. It is a waste of .. .. our taxpayers’ dollars. It is inconsistent with our non-proliferation policy. .. .. I will continue to oppose the construction of this unnecessary, wasteful and unsound project.

9

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Don Riley’s favorite graph

In 1995, the U.S. Department of Energy published their annual “International Energy Outlook” which included the above chart. This chart shows that the already mined and milled uranium and spent fuel from existing LWR NPPs, worth trillions of dollars, can power all of the U.S. electrical energy needs at 1994 levels for over 700 years: 2,138 TWy/2.85 TWy/y. The government calls these indigenous resources hazardous waste.

This graph was pulled from the next year’s report and never shown again. Never has a foreign power or our country’s own government taken so much energy away from the American people. If the rest of the world decided to deny this much fossil fuel energy to the United States, what would we do?

10

DONALD R. RILEY Short summary of his life and career in nuclear power (1929 – 2014)

By John A. Shanahan

Don Riley’s personal interests He was a leader in the Boy Scouts for over 50 years. He taught boys how to appreciate the outdoors and build ham radios to communicate with people around the world He got regular exercise: biking, hiking, snowshoeing.

This picture shows Don snowshoeing at over 10,000 foot elevation near Guanella Pass in Colorado in 1991.

11