Disposition of excess weapons plutonium from dismantled weapons

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:491862

Jardine, L J

With the end of the Cold War and the implementation of various nuclear arms reduction agreements, US and Russia have been actively dismantling tens of thousands of nuclear weapons. As a result,large quantities of fissile materials, including more than 100 (tonnes?) of weapons-grade Pu, have become excess to both countries` military needs. To meet nonproliferation goals and to ensure the irreversibility of nuclear arms reductions, this excess weapons Pu must be placed in secure storage and then, in timely manner, either used in nuclear reactors as fuel or discarded in geologic repositories as solid waste. This disposition in US and Russia must be accomplished in a safe, secure manner and as quickly as practical. Storage of this Pu is a prerequisite to any disposition process, but the length of storage time is unknown. Whether by use as fuel or discard as solid waste, disposition of that amount of Pu will require decades--and perhaps longer, if disposition operations encounter delays. Neither US nor Russia believes that long-term secure storage is a substitute for timely disposition of excess Pu, but long-term, safe, secure storage is a critical element of all excess Pu disposition activities.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 491862
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JC--125897; CONF-9610312--1; ON: DE97053154
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
35 ARMS CONTROL
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
MANAGEMENT
MIXED OXIDE FUELS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS DISMANTLEMENT
PLUTONIUM
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
UNDERGROUND STORAGE
USA