The contribution of civilian industry to military Pu disposition

Weapon-grade plutonium must be disposed of in a safe and secure manner. Disposition programs should start as soon as possible and be properly monitored to achieve disarmament and non-proliferation objectives. Finally, for obvious economic and environmental reasons, such programs should make use, as much as possible, of proven processes and technology as well as of available equipment and existing sites. The more advanced - and readily available - solution is the fabrication of plutonium into MOX fuel and its irradiation existing Light Water Reactors. This solution also has the obvious advantage of burning some of the plutonium (30 to 40 %) and degrading the remaining portion of it, while generating electricity. In the longer term, the burning of plutonium new types of dedicated reactors, like High Temperature Reactor or Fast Neutron Reactor, can be envisaged, but the time and costs associated with deploying such reactors and their fuel cycle must be taken to account. (authors)