nuclear-news

The weapons potential of high-assay low-enriched uranium

Recent promotion of new reactor technologies appears to disregard decades-old concerns about nuclear proliferation

R. SCOTT KEMP , EDWIN S. LYMAN, MARK R. DEINERT, RICHARD L. GARWIN, AND FRANK N. VON HIPPEL, https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado8693 6 June 24

Preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons has been a major thrust of international policymaking for more than 70 years. Now, an explosion of interest in a nuclear reactor fuel called high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), spurred by billions of dollars in US government funding, threatens to undermine that system of control.

HALEU contains between 10 and 20% of the isotope uranium-235. At 20% ²³⁵U and above, the isotopic mixture is called highly enriched uranium (HEU) and is internationally recognized as being directly usable in nuclear weapons. However, the practical limit for weapons lies below the 20% HALEU-HEU threshold. Governments and others promoting the use of HALEU have not carefully considered the potential proliferation and terrorism risks that the wide adoption of this fuel creates.

June 9, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uranium, weapons and war