The plutonium problem: the Royal Society sits on the fence.
A recent Royal Society report, Management of Separated Plutonium, considers the production and disposal of plutonium from the spent fuel from civil and nuclear power reactors. It accepts the need for dealing with plutonium stocks because of the toxicity of the element and as it can be used to fabricate nuclear weapons, and expresses concern that it might be illicitly acquired by terrorists. It recommends an independent Government commission on the management of plutonium, and considers the various options for this. However, it does not analyse the arguments against plutonium as a reactor fuel, and underestimates the risks of diversion to nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism. This paper reviews the options, and concludes that separated plutonium should be added to high-level waste, vitrified, and eventually buried in a deep geological repository.
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D005161:Facility Regulation and Control; D006801:Humans; D011005:Plutonium; D011210:Power Plants / Q000592:standards*; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D006113:United Kingdom; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control; D018505:Waste Management / Q000592:standards*
D011850:Radioactive Waste; D011005:Plutonium