Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles: Workshop Summary (2012)Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board
In recent years, there has been a worldwide resurgence in interest in nuclear energy -- and this expansion has spurred concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation. The concerns stem from that fact that fuel will be required for new power plants and that those plants will produce spent-fuel waste. As a result some nations may be interested in constructing nuclear fuel cycle facilities, particularly enrichment or reprocessing facilities. Metrics for assessing the proliferation risk and resistance of a nuclear fuel cycle technology to diversion for non-peaceful uses have been developed, but their utility for policy makers is unclear. Participants at the public workshop Improving the Assessment of Proliferation Risk in Nuclear Fuel Cycles considered how current and future methodologies for assessing host state proliferation risk and resistance might better meet the needs of decision makers.