Nuclear nonproliferation

As of 1995, there were no nuclear fuel reprocessing plants operating in the United States. Other nuclear nations have constmcted second- or third-generation reprocessing faciUties. These nations have signed the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, and the faciUties are under the purview of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

In what way and how much do the military origins and uses of fission energy impact the prospects for revival ofthe nuclear power option Are they a serious impediment are they of little significance or is it just possible that, if fully understood, the military implications are a positive factor No assessment of the future of nuclear power can be complete without consideration ofthe military use issue, the essence of which is the potential spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries or even subnational entities. This paper reviews this issue, giving particular attention to international nuclear safeguards, certainly the most distinctive, and probably the most misunderstood feature of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. 

Nuclear magnetic resonance systems, electromagnets for, 23 857-861 Nuclear metallurgy, 76 127 Nuclear Nonproliferation Act of 1978, 77 550... 

Tens of thousands of atomic and hydrogen bombs were built during and immediately after World War II, and 6,000 are now in existence, each having 20 times the destructive force of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. South Africa removed its nuclear weapons as part of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Pact (NPT). Today, forty nations throughout the world have the ability to produce nuclear weapons. The world barely escaped catastrophe in October 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis. There were 1,700 nuclear weapons in Cuba at that time. If the US. had invaded Cuba, it is too horrible to contemplate what might have been the consequences. 

Nuclear Suppliers Group a select group of nuclear supplier coimtries dedicated to nuclear nonproliferation that establishes the Trigger List (see definition) and Dual-use List (see definition) in formulating guidelines for the export of nuclear materials, equipment and technology and for the transfer of nuclear-related dual-use nuclear equipment, materials, software and related technology, respectively. 

Because fast neutrons are more effective at decaying many radioactive nuclides, the material separated from the uranium and plutonium during reprocessing is less radioactive than waste from other reactors. However, generation of relatively high levels of plutonium coupled with the need for reprocessing is problematic in terms of nuclear nonproliferation. Thus, political factors coupled with increased safety concerns and higher operational costs make fast breeder reactors quite rare. 

A small SFR, commonly referred to as the 4S (Super Safe, Small, and Simple), is under development with the aim of commercialization in the early 2010s (O Fig. 58.14). The reactor is intended to serve as a dispersed supply source of power and heat for local areas with an electric output of 10—50 MWe. This reactor is designed for continuous operation up to 30 years without refueling by steadily driving upward a removable radial reflector surrounding the core. This also has the advantage of nuclear nonproliferation because it is capable of sealed operation with no need to unseal the reactor for maintenance. This can be achieved by a reactor internal structure composed only of passive components, such as an electromagnetic pump with no active parts for in-vessel coolant circulation. There have also been studies on the application of... 

In the strategic economic context, it is necessary to develop a longer-term view that will synergistically benefit the economy, the global environment, and the furtherance of interests at large. Such a view will provide a sound technological and scientific framework for the future and must also address the collateral issues such as nuclear nonproliferation more effectively and realistically (e.g., the Iran, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea positions). 

Nuclear power for civil use is well established in India. Its civil nuclear strategy has been directed toward complete independence in the nuclear fuel cycle, necessary because it is excluded from the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) due to it acquiring nuclear weapons capability after 1970. 

During the Cold War, both the Soviet Union and the United States were reluctant to consider any type of disarmament. Even as many nations continued to develop and stockpile chemical weapons, and as new players undertook to arm themselves with the agents, nuclear weapons took center stage. The world of disarmament was dominated by test-ban treaties and nuclear nonproliferation pacts. 

Cacuci, D. G. 2010. Handbook of Nuclear Engineering. New York Springer. This four-volume e-book provides thorough coverage of all areas of nuclear engineering. Volume 1 focuses on the fundamentals of nuclear engineering volumes 2, 3, and 4 discuss nuclear reactor analysis, power reactors, experimental reactors, and the nuclear fuel cycle, respectively. Other topics include radioactive waste disposal, safeguards, and nuclear nonproliferation. 

However, demand-and-supply balance of the uranium resources did not become as serious as it had been foreseen in the days of introduction of thermal reactors such as the LWRs. As a result, numbers of LWRs have been used all over the world to date. On the other hand, SFR development, where the sodium coolant technology and the plutonimn technology are deeply involved, had slowed down or completely shut in some countries because of the economical aspect in the short term or the enhancement of the nuclear nonproliferation policy. 

Fear of nuclear weapons though one of the aims of this chapter has been to show that these are two separate technologies, which the international nuclear nonproliferation system has been spectacularly successful in keeping apart ... 

Kalinowski, Martin B. International Control of Tritium for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament. Science and Global Security Monograph Series. Boca Raton, Fla. CRC Press, 2004. 

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