THE PLUTONIUM PROBLEM

摘要

All countries that use nuclear power face the problem of how to dispose of their hazardous waste. In addition to the highly radioactive fission products at its Sellafield nuclear installation, the UK has accumulated 112 tonnes of plutonium, separated from spent power reactor fuel and stored as weapons-ready oxide powder. This, according to calculations by the International Atomic Energy Agency, is enough to make 10,000 nuclear weapons. The British government spends billions guarding this stockpile against theft by terrorists.