717 



UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE 

 WASHINGTON, O.C. 20548 



The Honorable Fortney H. Stark, Jr. 

 House of Representatives 



Dear Mr. stark; 



In a July 19, 1982, letter you requested that we address a 

 number of issues relating to fusion energy—a potential new source 

 of virtually unlimited nuclear power. At that time, we were con- 

 ducting a review of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) implementa- 

 tion of the Magnetic Fusion Energy Engineering Act of 1980 (Public 

 Law No. 96-386) in response to an earlier request from you. After 

 completing the audit work for our April 1983 report, ^ we agreed 

 with your office to focus our efforts on international cooperation 

 in fusion energy development. Specifically, we agreed to address 

 the following questions: 



— What is the united States' policy and strategy for interna- 

 tional cooperation in fusion energy development? 



— VJhat are the different types of fusion international co- 

 operative efforts? 



— What is the possible impact of international cooperative 

 efforts on the United States' ability to maintain its world 

 leadership position in fusion energy development? 



— What problems have been encountered in international co- 

 operative fusion efforts and how have these been resolved? 



—What is industry's role in international cooperative fusion 

 efforts? 



To answer these questions, we focused on DOE's plan for 

 fusion development and other relevant documents. We also inter- 

 viewed cognizant DOE, Department of State, and Office of Science 

 and Technology Policy officials. We also spoke with key national 

 laboratory officials and representatives from the Japanese Embassy 

 and the Commission of the European Communities. Appendix I in- 

 cludes a detailed explanation of our objectives, scope, and 

 methodology. 



^Status o f DOE'S Implementation of the Magnetic F usion Energy 

 Engineering Act of 1980 ( GA0/RCED-R3- 1 ns . Apr. 9Q, iqq^) ^ 



