While the antinuclear activists claim that nuclear energy poses the risk of proliferation of nuclear weapons, the truth could not be more different. The Megatons to Megawatts program was started in 1993 following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 which brought an end to the Cold War. Under the program, Soviet nuclear weapons and weapons-grade materials are dismantled to make Uranium fuel for civilian nuclear power reactors.
Cold War Nuclear Weapons
During the Cold War, the US and NATO went up against the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in that largest build up of firepower in the history of mankind. Tens of thousands of nuclear weapons were built by the two sides, enough to kill every human being on the planet several times over. The concept of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) prevented the two sides from ever using those nuclear weapons. However, after the Cold War ended, those weapons remained and to this day must be guarded to ensure they do not fall into the hands of rogue nations or terrorist groups. So what do we do with thousands of weapons and tons of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)?
Make Reactor Fuel from Nuclear Warheads
Megatons to Megawatts allows for a thorough means of eliminating dangerous nuclear weapons while at the same time generating large amounts of safe, reliable, and carbon-free electricity. The agreement calls for the elimination of 500 metric tons of HEU, the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear bombs. One pound of weapons-grade Uranium can be reprocessed into as much as 30 pounds of reactor fuel. As of December 31, 2009, 15294 nuclear weapons have been dismantled. Those recycled weapons have provided enough fuel to produce 10% of the electricity in the United States for several years.
With current events focused on nuclear disarmament, the Megatons to Megawatts program remains the best way to get rid of a nuclear weapon. Fission is still the only way to permanently dispose of weapons-grade material. While you can dismantle the bomb itself, the HEU material remains and must be dealt with. Instead of throwing the missiles into the sun, perhaps Superman 3 might have considered making reactor fuel, at least then we wouldn’t have had to deal with that disgraceful He-Man ripoff (I don’t get the whole fingernails thing).
Expires in 2012
To date, the Russians have completed about 75% of the contract with just under 3 years remaining in the program. Following expiration, the Russians are likely to pursue private contracts with US Utilities instead of dealing directly with the US government. This will allow the Russians to charge market Uranium prices instead of predetermined contract prices that are resistant to market fluctuations. With the global expansion of nuclear power, these private contracts will prove far more valuable to the Russians than the $8 billion in revenue generated by the Megatons to Megawatts program.
The Future of Nuclear Disarmament
Unfortunately, there are still many countries around the world pursuing nuclear weapons. Today the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea are known to posses nuclear weapons with a dozen other countries either rumored to have or in the process of obtaining nukes. With just Russia currently dismantling the weapons, there is plenty of room to expand the program to include other countries.
The Megatons to Megawatts program only addresses Uranium bombs. But many Cold War weapons are made of Plutonium. In future iterations of the program, Plutonium will be included as many countries expand the use of spent fuel recycling and Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel containing both Uranium and Plutonium. With tens of thousands of warheads remaining around the globe, it is likely that the lights will be kept on by atomic bombs for decades to come.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the US and USSR came within arms reach of destroying the world. Last minute diplomacy prevented the war that nearly ended us all. Just 30 years later, the two countries set aside their differences and took those same bombs and decided to power cities instead of destroying them. With any luck, we’ll never come that close again. Megatons to Megawatts is the best way to make sure that never happens.
Image Credit
Peaceful Energy courtesy of Flickr user Sashafatcat under the CC license.
3 Comments
Great article! I would like to know exactly (roughly) how much nuclear material from weapons has been used for civilian power production. A few anti-nuclear advocates I’ve spoken with (loosely speaking) have claimed that the numbers were quite insufficient and I would love a factual rebuttal. Keep up the good press!
Your anti-nuclear “friends” have lied to you.
The amount of nuclear fuel that has been recovered from weapons is quite remarkable. Today, the uranium from weapons stockpiles displaces about 9000 tonnes of uranium production from mines each year. That’s enough to meet the requirements of about 13% of the world’s reactors.
That 13% might not sound like a lot, but the world is a big place. Let me add some perspective. That’s enough to power almost half (46%) of the reactors in the US, or equivalently, almost all (88%) of the reactors in France, which generates about 80% of its electricity from nuclear.
Put another way, this uranium now provides the energy equivalent of all of the oil produced by a country such as Libya, or nearly 3/4-ths of the oil produced by Iraq. All of this energy comes from former weapons material.
The impact of this cannot be understated, because this source of uranium has had a substantial effect on the uranium market. It has kept prices low, which has discouraged prospecting and the development of new resources.
Interestingly, however, this provides another talking point for the anti-nuke kooks, because they are shameless enough to try to have it both ways. While claiming that the fuel reclaimed from weapons has had a negligible effect, they also make the ridiculous claim that the world is running out of uranium. What they neglect to mention, however, is that until very recently, nobody has bothered to seriously look for new resources, because the price of uranium has been kept low by the output of existing mines and recovered uranium from weapons.
In other words, the anti-nukes have flunked Economics 101. They don’t understand, or refuse to understand, the basic rules of supply and demand.
@Brian
A most commendable use of my favorite idiom for idiots, Antinuke Kook.
@Will
The equivalnet of 20,000 nuclear bombs worth of Highly Enriched Uranium is certainly no neglible amount. The antis, as always, bury their heads in the sand and ignore the numbers.
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