Weapons plutonium to be tested as nuclear fuel
OTTAWA (AP) - Atomic Energy of Canada will proceed with
burning U.S. and Russian
weapons-grade plutonium this summer despite opposition from
anti-nuclear activists. The
test will determine whether plutonium from surplus nuclear
warheads can be efficiently used
as fuel in Candu-type nuclear reactors, project director Bob
Gadsby told a briefing
Wednesday. The project is being defended as a contribution to
the cause of nuclear
disarmament. Canada has already said it will consider a large
scale program to destroy
plutonium from Russian and American nuclear warheads, but a
decision is at least seven
years away. Russia and the U.S. each have about 50 tons of
surplus plutonium from
warheads that are being dismantled. There is concern that
some of that material could fall
into the hands of terrorists or rogue states. ###