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Breaking the fuel/weapons connection

Journal Article · · Bull. At. Sci.; (United States)
The production of weapons-usable material for both military and civilian purposes must be constrained to the maximum extent possible if efforts to reduce nuclear arsenals and to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries and to terrorist groups are to succeed. To this end, the authors propose the following: (1) separation of plutonium from spent reactor fuel and the use of plutonium and highly enriched uranium to fuel civilian nuclear reactors be halted indefinitely; and (2) nuclear-weapons states halt production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and put their existing stocks of civilian fissile material and facilities capable of producing such material under international safeguards. These two measures - one relating to the spread of nuclear weapons to additional national and to terrorist groups (horizontal proliferation) and one relating to the expansion of already existing nuclear weapons arsenals (vertical proliferation) - are linked politically and technically. It is time to combine them in a single package.
Research Organization:
Princeton Univ., NJ
OSTI ID:
5011686
Journal Information:
Bull. At. Sci.; (United States), Journal Name: Bull. At. Sci.; (United States) Vol. 42; ISSN BASIA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English