"Megatons to Megawatts" Milestone

Here is an update from the World Nuclear News:

A total of 325 tonnes of Russian ex-military highly enriched uranium – equivalent to 13,000 nuclear warheads - has so far been downblended for use in civilian nuclear power stations under the so-called Megatons to Megawatts programme, USEC has announced.

USEC acts as executive agent for the US government in implementing the deal whereby the US government agreed to purchase 500 tonnes of Russian surplus weapons-grade high-enriched uranium from nuclear disarmament and military stockpiles for downblending to low-enriched uranium suitable for use in nuclear power stations.

The 20-year programme is now in its 14th year, and by the time it is completed in 2013 the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads will have been downblended, according to USEC.

To put this into perspective, 10 percent of the US' electricity right now is generated by the uranium fuel from the Megatons to Megawatts program.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Do you really think that the worlds/United States' nuclear issue will be resolved by 2013? What about all the material that has been buried underground? What to become of that? Please, I would like to know, and so would thousands of others.

TL High School Senior.
Future USMC Officer.

May 8, 2008 at 5:42 PM

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