Estimating Plutonium Production at Israel's Dimona Reactor

摘要

Israel has used the Dimona reactor in the Negev Desert since the 1960s for unsafe-guarded plutonium production. Estimates of cumulative historic production have been very uncertain, however, because the power level of the reactor is unknown, and there is a lack of detail about the reactor design. This analysis presents new estimates of historic plutonium production in Israel based on neutronics calculations for the Dimona reactor ("EL-102"), which is based on a modified version of the French EL-3. We estimate that cumulative production of plutonium to date is 800 ± 125 kg. The paper also includes a critical review of the 1986 testimony by the Dimona technician and whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, which provided much of the basis for public discussion of the reactor's power and operation.