Trump plan to give start-ups plutonium harvested from Cold War–era nuclear weapo

[Marlin]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-warn-against-trump-plan-to-give-cold-war-plutonium-to-nuclear-power-companies/

[News Wire]

The Department of Energy has selected five private companies to receive plutonium harvested from decommissioned Cold War weapons. This Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program aims to encourage the development of advanced fuel supplies and recycling technologies. The agency maintains that participants must meet strict security and regulatory requirements to handle the material.

Critics argue the plan poses national security risks, as the United States currently lacks operational mixed oxide reactors to utilize such fuel. Experts note that plutonium requires more stringent security protocols than standard uranium fuel. The initiative faces opposition from lawmakers who contend that distributing weapons-grade material to private entities increases the potential for nuclear proliferation.

Weapons-grade plutonium can fuel nuclear reactors known as mixed oxide reactors, but none of these exist in the U.S.

Trump plan to give start-ups plutonium harvested from Cold War–era nuclear weapons is risky, experts say

The Trump administration's plan to offer plutonium from dismantled Cold War–era nuclear weapons to private energy companies is drawing criticism from experts who say it makes little economic sense and presents a national security threat.

There are currently no operational nuclear reactors in the country that are built to use plutonium-derived fuel. Instead nuclear power plants in the U.S. are powered by a mixture of two uranium isotopes. A small portion, usually around 5 percent, of that fuel is uranium 235, which can also be used to make nuclear weapons. The majority is uranium 238, which cannot sustain a nuclear fission reaction on its own. Because of that balance, if some of this fuel were to fall into the wrong hands, it...

Read the full article at Scientific American:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-warn-against-trump-plan-to-give-cold-war-plutonium-to-nuclear-power-companies/