Plutonium management for the future
Managment of excess nuclear materials from US weapons dismantlement has been the subject of numerous intellectual discussions during the past 5 years. Although there has been some objective recommendations, there is still much controversy surrounding the procsses that could lead to a national decision on Pu management. Two immediate needs are to secure the inventories of all Pu in safe configurations and to develop strategies for reducing proliferation risks. Specific suggestions discussed here are to (a) accept the deterrence value of Pu, (b) reappraise its potential as an energy resource, (c) recognize limitations to influence the future of Pu use world-wide, (d) isolate recoverable weapons-grade Pu and store it in stable configurations under international safeguards, and (e) manage Pu in spent fuels so that the valuable resources are not lost to a future generation.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 228506
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-96-635; CONF-9606116-10; ON: DE96008508; TRN: 96:012383
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), Reno, NV (United States), 16-20 Jun 1996; Other Information: PBD: [1996]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Multi-generational stewardship of plutonium
Global plutonium management: A security option