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ARTICLE ARCHIVE

Reprocessing

Reprocessing - the chemical separation of uranium and plutonium from irradiated reactor fuel - is arguably the most dangerous and dirty phase of the nuclear fuel chain. Reprocessing generates huge waste streams with no management solution and isolates plutonium, the fissile component of a nuclear weapon. Countries such as England and France, where reprocessing has been carried out for decades, face a legacy of contamination and an enormous plutonium surplus vulnerable to theft or attack.

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Entries from March 1, 2010 - March 31, 2010

Wednesday
Mar242010

170 groups oppose reprocessing with "Principles for Safeguarding Nuclear Waste at Reactors"

170 national and grassroots environmental organizations, representing every state in the country, have signed onto the "Statement of Principles for Safeguarding Nuclear Waste at Reactors." It urges decision makers, including Energy Secretary Chu's blue ribbon commission on radioactive waste, to require hardened on-site storage (HOSS) for high-level radioactive waste stored at nuclear power plants across the U.S. The Statement also expresses adamant opposition to the dirty, dangerous, and expensive extraction of plutonium (reprocessing) from irradiated nuclear fuel. (Image reprinted from Dr. Gordon Thompson's report Robust Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel: A Neglected Issue of Homeland Security, commissioned by Citizens Awareness Network and published by the Institute for Resource and Security Studies in Jan. 2003.)

DateMarch 24, 2010 | Print ArticlePrint Article | |