Plutonium: Deadly Gold of the Nuclear Age

by a special commission of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER)

Publisher: International Physicians Press

Year Published: 1992

Pages: 178 pp.

Binding: Paperback

ISBN: 0963445502

Hundreds of tons of plutonium have been produced since World War II. The Cold War is over, yet production of plutonium, one of the most potent cancer-causing substances known to humankind, continues in several countries. While much of it is allegedly now for civilian power generation, all plutonium can be used for nuclear weapons, and proliferation by sale or theft is an increasing risk. Further, plutonium production ("reprocessing") generates great volumes of highly radioactive liquid wastes, which under certain conditions can explode, as occurred in the Soviet Union in 1957. There is as yet no suitable method for disposing of these wastes or the plutonium itself. Plutonium: Deadly Gold of the Nuclear Age examines the huge risks posed to human health, the environment, and international security by the global accumulation of plutonium. It also proposes policy initiatives that can be undertaken now to end the plutonium era.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Nuclear Gold or Nuclear Poison?

Nuclear Gold

Properties of Plutonium

Radiation from Plutonium

Nuclear Poison

Introduction

Carcinogenic Mechanisms

Routes of Exposure and Biokinetics

The 1945 Plutonium Injection Experiment on Humans

Environmental Regulatory Considerations

Summary

Chapter 2: Plutonium Production and Use

Plutonium as Fissile Material

Plutonium Production Technology

Nuclear Reactors and Plutonium Grades

Reprocessing Plants

Military Plutonium

United States

Soviet Union

United Kingdom

France

China

Israel

India

Pakistan

Summary of Military Plutonium Production, by Country

Presently-Civilian Plutonium

Breeder Reactors

Japan's Nuclear Power Program

Fabrication of Weapons from Plutonium

Processes

Hazards

Routine Hazards

Accidental Criticality

Plutonium-Induced Fires

Chapter 3: Radioactive Wastes from Plutonium Production

Wastes and Hazards from Reprocessing

Waste Categories

Reprocessing Wastes

Releases during Reprocessing

Explosions during Reprocessing

High-Level Waste from Reprocessing

General Background

Management and Storage of High-Level Waste

Locations and Amounts of High-Level Waste

United States

Hanford and Savannah River

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and West Valley

Soviet Union

Chelyabinsk-65

Tomsk-7

Krasnoyarsk-26

United Kingdom

France

China

Summary and Explanation of Variations

High-Level Waste: Discharges into the Environment

Leaks to the Environment

Waste Discharges in the U.S.: Hanford

Waste Discharges in the Soviet Union: Techa River and Lake Karachay

Studying Health Effects of Waste Discharges from Chelyabinsk-65

Chapter 4: Tank Explosions: Kyshtym 1957

The Explosion

The Effects of the Accident

Radioactive Contamination

Dose Estimates

Worker Exposures

The Relevance of Kyshtym of Other Locations

Chapter 5: The Potential for Explosions and Fires in High-Level Waste Storage Tanks

Acidic and Neutralized Wastes

Explosion Mechanisms

Organic Compounds

Ferrocyanides

Organic Chemicals

Hydrogen

Hanford, U.S.

Savannah River, U.S.

Steam under Pressure

Nuclear Criticality

Chapter 6: Long-Term Management of High-Level Wastes

General Background on High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal

History

The Nature of the Hazard

Current Status by Country

Problems Associated with High-Level Liquid Reprocessing Wastes

Conversion to a Stable Form

Problems with the Vitrification Process

Problems with Vitrification By-Products

Compatibility of Waste Form with Disposal Solution

Hydration Aging of Glass at a Yucca Mountain Repository

Removal of Wastes from Tanks

Chapter 7: Warhead Dismantlement and Plutonium Displosal

Nuclear Warhead Dismantlement

Disposal of Plutonium from Warheads

Monitored Surface Storage

Fabrication into MOx Fuel for Commercial Reactors

Irradiating Plutonium in an Accelerator

Deep Geologic Disposal/Seabed Disposal

Launching Plutonium into the Sun

Underground Nuclear Detonation

Chapter 8: Post-Cold War Plutonium

Nuclear Proliferation

Radiation Bombs

Accidental Dispersal

Accidental Nuclear War

Chapter 9: Summary and Recommendations

Summary of Findings

Recommendations

Appendix

Glossary

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

References