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Two U.S. University Nuclear Research Reactors Remain Unable to Convert Away From Weaponizable Uranium
Two U.S. universities remain unable to convert their highly enriched uranium-based nuclear research reactors to a safer fuel, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, July 19). Several schools, including the University of Florida and Texas A&M are scheduled next year to convert to an alternative reactor fuel, and conversions are also under way at the University of Wisconsin, Washington, Purdue and Oregon State, but reactors at the University of Missouri and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology remain among the 31 reactors worldwide that cannot switch from using highly enriched uranium due to technical issues, according to AP. The Energy Department hopes to have all reactors converted by 2014, AP reported. Converting to non-nuclear-weapon usable fuel at Missouri has been complicated also by plans to upgrade the reactor to 20 megawatts, which necessitates continued use of the existing fuel grade. The power change would boost production of radioactive isotopes for medical purposes, reactor director Ralph Butler said in a written statement. “The majority of isotopes used in the United States today are provided by foreign suppliers,” Butler wrote. “The nation needs a consistent, reliable supply of radioactive and stable isotopes for medical, security, space power and research uses.” A federal license on Missouri’s reactor limits the amount of unirradiated fuel it can contain to 5 kilograms, AP reported. Irradiated fuel cannot be used in a nuclear bomb. Twelve kilograms of highly enriched uranium would be needed to produce nuclear weapons smaller than that used on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II. Work on two alternative fuels that could be used at Missouri and MIT is not expected to finish for five years, and one effort might be in danger of cancellation, AP reported. While commercial reactors have specialized 24-hour security, universities rely on campus police. Some experts warn that terrorists seeking weapon-grade nuclear material could exploit their reactors. “These things have been used for education for so long, the operators don’t seem to accept they can be used for nuclear weapons,” said George Bunn, a professor at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. Butler said reactor security at Missouri is adequate and that the likelihood of research reactors being targeted for bomb fuel was “remote.” “Nuclear terrorism is a very serious threat to western countries, including the United States,” he said. “But the origin of the material isn’t going to be a research reactor” (Alan Zagier, Associated Press/Jefferson City News Tribune, Aug. 20).
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