Initiative to curb nuclear nonproliferation

[Rach3]

From AP staff writer Josef Hebert:

The program got under way with great fanfare in 2000 as an "unprecedented" initiative to curb nuclear nonproliferation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060722/ap_on_go_pr_wh/russian_plutonium

Illiterate!

 

[Astronuc]

Rach3, what is the point of the comment "Illiterate!"?

The US and Russia were supposed to be working in parallel on the conversion of Pu to commerical fuel. I had tentative approval of a contract (in place) to work on the Russian side, pending agreements with the Russians. It never happened. Then recently, the Russians decided to defer the disposition of Pu in VVER and FRs, in favor of GCRs. And the US has sent $100 millions to Russia with little to show for it. The AP article paints a fairly accurate picture.

 

[Gokul43201]

To "curb nuclear nonproliferation" equals approximately to "encourage unbridled proliferation".

(double negative)

 

[Astronuc]

The program was conceived during the Clinton administration before Vladimir Putin succeeded Boris Yeltsin on December 31, 1999.

Then Russia was very unstable and there was widespread concern regarding the nuclear weapons (and ~30 MT) of Pu-bearing warheads, and the likelihood that one or more would be stolen and sold for big bucks, as well as concern that Russian weapons designers and manufacturers might be tempted to work for whomever paid them a reasonable amount of money.

There were many complications.

However the situation has changed dramatically. Russia is now much more stable and concurrently, much more under control of a not-so-democratic government, and it is flush with cash from oil.

So Russia has changed the program to suit its needs, and not necessarily the needs of its people, particularly the scientists and engineers, at various labs. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and its just one of the stories in the current global situation.