Normally I’m in favour of nuclear recycling. When it means re-using the material in used nuclear fuel, I’m all for it. After all, I support the Three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. But when it means recycling tired propaganda, my favour declines. For…
Category: Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
U.S. Blue Ribbon nuclear commission should visit France
There’s nothing like actually seeing processes you have up to then only read or heard about. The mythical suddenly becomes real, and more normal and innocuous. Two weeks ago, I toured Areva’s MELOX plant near Avignon. MELOX makes new fuel…
Deconstructing the Floodgates hypothesis: is nuclear recycling a proliferation threat?
Opposition to recycling used nuclear fuel in the U.S. centres around the assumption that if the U.S. resumes recycling, an activity it stopped doing in the 1970s, then that will open the floodgates worldwide. Countries that allegedly followed the U.S.…
The right way to defeat nuclear proliferation
A couple of weeks ago, the Toronto Star published an opinion piece whose author accused Canada of facilitating nuclear proliferation through international sales of uranium and CANDU reactors. It drew a couple of rebuttals: a short, pithy one from Jeremy Whitlock…
Doomsday Clock reset to six minutes before midnight: breathe easy, people of East and South Asia
Over the last couple days I have participated in a very interesting discussion on the relevance of proliferation concerns to the renaissance in civilian nuclear energy. This closely preceded the announcement, a few minutes ago, by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists…