Conversion of Russian weapon-grade plutonium into oxide for mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication

Progress has been made in the Russian Federation towards the conversion of Russian weapons-grade plutonium (W-Pu) into plutonium oxide (PuO2) suitable for further manufacture into mixed oxide (MOX) fuels. This program is funded both by French Commissariat at the Atomic Energy (CEA) and the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The French program was started in the frame of the two cooperation agreements signed between Russian Federation and France in November 1992 concerning dismantling of nuclear weapons and the use of their nuclear materials for civilian purposes. The US program was started in 1998 in response to US proliferation concerns and the acknowledged international need to decrease available W-Pu. Russia has selected both the conversion process and the manufacturing site. This paper discusses the present state of development towards fulfilling this mission: the demonstration plant designed to process small amounts of Pu and validate all process stages and the industrial plant that will process up to 5 metric tons of Pu per year. (author)