Download or read book Plutonium written by Frank von Hippel and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-12-23 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a readable and thought-provoking analysis of the issues surrounding nuclear fuel reprocessing and fast-neutron reactors, including discussion of resources, economics, radiological risk and resistance to nuclear proliferation. It describes the history and science behind reprocessing, and gives an overview of the status of reprocessing programmes around the world. It concludes that such programs should be discontinued. While nuclear power is seen by many as the only realistic solution to the carbon emission problem, some national nuclear establishments have been pursuing development and deployment of sodium-cooled plutonium breeder reactors, and plutonium recycling. Its proponents argue that this system would offer significant advantages relative to current light water reactor technology in terms of greater uranium utilization efficiency, and that separating out the long-lived plutonium and other transuranics from spent fuel and fissioning them in fast reactors would greatly reduce the duration of the toxicity of radioactive waste. However, the history of efforts to deploy this system commercially in a number of countries over the last six decades has been one of economic and technical failure and, in some cases, was used to mask clandestine nuclear weapon development programs. Covering topics of significant public interest including nuclear safety, fuel storage, environmental impact and the spectre of nuclear terrorism, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of the issue for nuclear engineers, policy analysts, government officials and the general public. "Frank von Hippel, Jungmin Kang, and Masafumi Takubo, three internationally renowned nuclear experts, have done a valuable service to the global community in putting together this book, which both historically and comprehensively covers the “plutonium age” as we know it today. They articulate in a succinct and clear manner their views on the dangers of a plutonium economy and advocate a ban on the separation of plutonium for use in the civilian fuel cycle in view of the high proliferation and nuclear-security risks and lack of economic justification." (Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (1997-2009), Nobel Peace Prize (2005)) "The 1960s dream of a ‘plutonium economy’ has not delivered abundant low-cost energy, but instead has left the world a radioactive legacy of nuclear weapons proliferation and the real potential for nuclear terrorism. Kang, Takubo, and von Hippel explain with power and clarity what can be done to reduce these dangers. The governments of the remaining countries whose nuclear research and development establishments are still pursuing the plutonium dream should pay attention.” (Senator Edward Markey, a leader in the US nuclear-disarmament movement as a member of Congress since 1976) "The authors have done an invaluable service by putting together in one place the most coherent analysis of the risks associated with plutonium, and the most compelling argument for ending the practice of separating plutonium from spent fuel for any purpose. They have given us an easily accessible history of the evolution of thinking about the nuclear fuel cycle, the current realities of nuclear power around the world and, arguably most important, a clear alternative path to deal with the spent fuel arising from nuclear reactors for decades to centuries to come." (Robert Gallucci, Chief US negotiator with North Korea (1994); Dean, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service (1996-2009); President, MacArthur Foundation (2009-2014))
Download or read book Commercial Plutonium Fuels Conference written by and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Safety Issues Associated with Plutonium Involvement in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle written by Theodore A. Parish and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "VOLGA" conferences, hosted in odd-numbered years by the Department of Theoretical and Experimental Reactor Physics of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI), are some of the most prestigious technical meetings held in Russia. Traditionally, these conferences present the opportunity for reactor physicists from around the world to gather at MEPhI's holiday camp on the banks of the Volga river (near Tver) to exchange ideas and explore innovative concepts related to nuclear power development. In 1997, NATO became involved in the "VOLGA" meetings for the first time by co-sponsoring "VOLGA97" as an advanced research workshop. This workshop broke with tradition a bit in that the venue was moved from MEPhI's holiday camp to a location nearer Moscow. The workshop program was effectively organized in order to cover a broad range of topics relating to the theme of the meeting. Generally, the papers concerned safety related questions associated with utilizing both weapons-grade and reactor-grade plutonium in the nuclear fuel cycle, including facility requirements, licensing issues, proliferation risks, and a variety of advanced concepts for alternative fuel cycles. The program contained a total of ninety-nine papers presented in five days of sessions.
Download or read book Advanced Nuclear Systems Consuming Excess Plutonium written by E.R. Merz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of recent developments in the field of plutonium disposal by the application of advanced nuclear systems, both critical and subcritical. Current national R&D plans are summarized. The actinide-fuelled critical reactors are associated with control problems, since they tend to have a small delayed neutron fraction coupled with a small Doppler effect and a positive void coefficient. Current thinking is turning to accelerator-driven subcritical systems for the transmutation of actinides. The book's conclusion is that the various systems proposed are technically feasible, even though not yet technically mature. The book presents a unique summary and evaluation of all relevant possibilities for burning surplus plutonium, presented by experts from a variety of different disciplines and interests, including the defence establishment. The obvious issue - the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons - is vital, but the matter represents a complex technological challenge that also requires an assessment in economic terms.
Download or read book Plutonium Fuel written by OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and published by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ; [Washington, D.C. : OECD Publications and Information Centre. This book was released on 1989 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Proposals Affecting Use of Plutonium as a Reactor Fuel written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Proliferation proof Uranium Plutonium and Thorium Uranium Fuel Cycles Safeguards and Non Proliferation written by Kessler, Guenter and published by KIT Scientific Publishing. This book was released on 2017-02-20 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thermal and neutron physics analysis show that above certain concentrations of the isotope Pu-238 hypothetical nuclear explosive devices, made of reactor-grade plutonium, are technically not feasible. Future proliferation-proof fuel cycles are proposed which make use of methods of actinide tansmutation.Reactors operating in the thorium/uranium fuel cyce are loaded with
Download or read book The Nuclear Fuel Cycle written by Nicholas Tsoulfanidis and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Plutonium Fuel Fabrication and Reprocessing for Fast Ceramic Reactors written by E. L. Zebroski and published by . This book was released on 1962 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Plutonium written by Mieczyslaw Taube and published by Wiley-VCH. This book was released on 1974 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Proliferation proof Uranium Plutonium Fuel Cycles written by Günther Kessler and published by KIT Scientific Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Management and Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-08-06 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within the next decade, many thousands of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons are slated to be retired as a result of nuclear arms reduction treaties and unilateral pledges. Hundreds of tons of plutonium and highly enriched uranium will no longer be needed for weapons purposes and will pose urgent challenges to international security. This is the supporting volume to a study by the Committee on International Security and Arms Control which dealt with all phases of the management and disposition of these materials. This technical study concentrates on the option for the disposition of plutonium, looking in detail at the different types of reactors in which weapons plutonium could be burned and at the vitrification of plutonium, and comparing them using economic, security and environmental criteria.
Download or read book Plutonium Power and Politics written by Gene I. Rochlin and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2024-06-14 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 1970s, the major industrial states were preparing to shift to nuclear fission as their principal source of electrical power. But that change has not occurred. In part, this is due to a growing public recognition that techniques and institutions for management of spent nuclear fuel, separated plutonium, and long-lived radioactive wastes are not yet fully developed. The consequent pressures for resolution have spurred a series of often ill-defined and sometimes contradictory attempts to promote international cooperation and control of hazardous activities. How are these varied suggestions to be compared and evaluated? By what criteria can plans be selected that are likely to be both effective and negotiable? In this study, Gene I. Rochlin, physicist and social scientist, explores the technical, political, and institutional aspects of international nuclear export and fuel cycle policies. He categorizes existing proposals and suggests way to develop new ones that better promote both national and international goals. Dr. Rochlin argues neither for nor against the use of nuclear power or plutonium fuels. Instead, he addresses the question of how international arrangements could be reached that might jointly satisfy the objective of the several key nations, yet not be too difficult to negotiate. He concludes that a major fault has been the tendency to improvise arrangements for specific technical or industrial operations. As a result, overall social and political goals have become the bargaining points for compromise. Yet attempts to simultaneously resolve all problems are unlikely to prove fruitful. Dr. Rochlin suggests instead the formation of institutions organized around more limited social, political, and technical objectives, even at the expense of excluding some nations or omitting some aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle. Only by so doing, he argues, can immediate agreements be reached that preserve the potential for more comprehensive future arrangements without sacrificing industrial, environmental, or nonproliferation goals. This important book will be of interest to scientists, social scientists, government officials, and others concerned with the problems of plutonium management and nuclear wastes. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.
Download or read book Preparation and Fabrication of Plutonium Fuel Alloy for Los Alamos Molten Plutonium Reactor Experiment No 1 written by J. W. Anderson and published by . This book was released on 1960 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Plutonium and Highly Enriched Uranium 1996 written by David Albright and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HEU) are the basic materials used in nuclear weapons. Plutonium also plays an important part in the generation of nuclear electricity. Knowing how much plutonium and HEU exists, where and in which form is vital for international security and nuclear commerce. This book is a thorough revision of the World Inventory of Plutonium and highly Enriched Uranium, 1992. It provides a rigorous and comprehensive assessment of the amounts of plutonium and HEU in military and civilian programmes, in nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states, and in countries seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. The capibilities that exist for producing these materials around the world are examined in depth, as are the policy issues raised by them. Containing much new information, this book is indispensable to all those concerned with the great contemporary issues in international nuclear relations: arms reductions in the nuclear weapon states, nuclear proliferation, nuclear smuggling, the roles of plutonium and enriched uranium in the nuclear fuel-cycle, and the disposition of surplus weapon material.
Download or read book Program Study Report Plutonium Fuel Cycle written by F. W. Albaugh and published by . This book was released on 1956 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Plutonium for Japan s Nuclear Reactors written by Kenneth A. Solomon and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adequate supplies of electricity have allowed Japan to make impressive economic advances. But Japan can sustain these advances only with assured supplies of fuel. To this end, it diversifies both its type of power producing facilities and its sources of fuel. Nuclear power provides Japan 30% of its electricity today and by the end of the century it will grow to 40%. Japan is facing both an opportunity and a dilemma. Japan's opportunity to convert its nuclear power from the conventional uranium based fuel to the more expensive mix of plutonium and uranium fuel extends its fuel supply by up to ten years at a substantial dollar cost as well as a potential nuclear weapons proliferation cost. This study estimates that if Japan elects to fuel its reactors with mixed plutonium and uranium oxide the dollar cost alone would run from $135 million to $800 million per year over the conventional uranium fuel. This cost is compounded by the fact that plutonium - unlike reactor grade uranium - is weapons usable. Plutonium in the hands of Japan may attract other countries to also want plutonium. This study concludes that one means of assuring energy and minimizing the potential for weapons proliferation is to develop an international nuclear fuel bank that could supply countries with energy credits.
