Tritium Rods Arrive at U.S. Nuclear Installation for Future Extraction, Weapons Use

The Savannah River Site in South Carolina has received rods containing the first tritium produced by the United States in 15 years in preparation for the material’s eventual extraction and use in existing nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, April 12, 2004).

A radioactive isotope of hydrogen, tritium must be replaced in nuclear weapons because it decays at a rate of 5 percent each year, according to AP.

The shipment recently arrived from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar nuclear reactor, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.

“This milestone is an important element to maintaining the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile,” NNSA Deputy Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said in a statement (Associated Press/Myrtle Beach Online, Sept. 9).

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