Re: So, is reprocessing in America's future?

["Franz Schoenhofer" <franz.schoenhofer@CHELLO.AT>]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----

Von: Raymond Shadis <shadis@ime.net>

An: NECNP <necnp@necnp.org>; radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

<radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>

Datum: Dienstag, 03. Juli 2001 21:57

Betreff: Re: So, is reprocessing in America's future?





>RE: Proliferation:

>Am I mistaken or did India not scavenge enough  material from its power

>reactor program to build and detonate a work-a-day bomb or two?





Yes, you are. India has not scavenged, but deliberately produced  b o m b -

plutonium (at least for sure for their first bomb exploded decades ago) in

their CANDU-power-reactors (heavy water cooled and moderated natural uranium

reactors), which are because of their construction suitable to easily change

the fuel rods after a short irradiation time without interrupting power

production. From these fuel rods  b o m b - plutonium is extracted. See Zack

Claytons mail on the background for production of bomb plutonium and the

difference to ordinary power reactor plutonium as produced by reprocessing

plants from commercial nuclear fuel. They have only done what other nations

have done before. The bombs were obviously of the same or better "quality"

as the early ones of the super-powers and sure not of the type that some

people claim, can be theoretically built from reprocessed "reactor

plutonium". (If I remember correctly India exploded more than two, the first

one decades ago.)



Franz









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