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Scientists learn to 'declaw' plutonium
Beer-Sheva, Israel (UPI) Mar 9, 2009 Engineers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel say they have developed a way to "declaw" nuclear fuel, ensuring only peaceful plutonium use. The engineers said their technique "denatures" plutonium created in large nuclear reactors, making it unsuitable for use in nuclear arms. They said that by adding Americium, a form of the basic synthetic element found in commercial smoke detectors and industrial gauges, plutonium can only be used for peaceful purposes. Professor Yigal Ronen, who led the research, said if the United States, Russia, Germany, France and Japan agreed to add the denaturing additive into all plutonium, it would affect other nations now developing nuclear power. "When you purchase a nuclear reactor from one of the five countries, it also provides the nuclear fuel for the reactor," said Ronen. "Thus, if the five agree to insert the additive into fuel for countries now developing nuclear power -- such as Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen -- they will have to use it for peaceful purposes rather than warfare." The research is to be reported in next month's issue of the journal Science and Global Security. Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Analysis: Kazakhs to boost uranium output
Washington (UPI) Mar 5, 2009 Unlike many other newly emerging oil-rich nations, Kazakhstan is not placing all its hopes on its hydrocarbon resources but seeking to diversify its energy exports to include uranium, adducing an increased demand for the fuel in coming decades from countries interested in nuclear power. Ultimately, however, having the silvery metal underwrite an increased percentage of the national economy might well prove to be a mixed blessing. In a world increasingly conscious of greenhouse gases and global warming, nuclear power has great appeal, but 55 years after the world's first nuclear power plant became operational, no one has yet figured out how to safely dispose of the waste. |
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