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Plutonium recovered from LWR spent fuel, while not weapons grade, can be used to produce nuclear weapons at all levels of sophistication, [25] though in simple designs it may produce only a fizzle yield. [26] Weapons made with reactor-grade plutonium would require special cooling to keep them in storage and ready for use. [27]
The degree to which typical Generation II reactor high burn-up produced reactor-grade plutonium is less useful than weapons-grade plutonium for building nuclear weapons is somewhat debated, with many sources arguing that the maximum probable theoretical yield would be bordering on a fizzle explosion of the range 0.1 to 2 kiloton in a Fat Man ...
Although India's nuclear programme and its details are highly classified, international figures suggest that India possesses about 172 nuclear weapons as per 2024 estimate. In 1999, India was estimated to have 800 kg of separated reactor-grade plutonium, with a total amount of 8,300 kg of civilian plutonium, enough for approximately 1,000 ...
Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and military nuclear weapons. There are about 2,000 tonnes of highly enriched uranium in the world, [3] produced mostly for nuclear power, nuclear weapons, naval propulsion, and smaller quantities for research reactors.
Map of nuclear-armed states of the world NPT -designated nuclear weapon states (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States) Other states with nuclear weapons (India, North Korea, Pakistan) Other states presumed to have nuclear weapons (Israel) NATO or CSTO member nuclear weapons sharing states (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Belarus) States formerly possessing nuclear ...
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are eliminated. Beginning with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty and continuing through the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty , there have been many treaties to limit or reduce ...
On March 28, Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station's Unit 2 reactor experiences a partial core meltdown, in Pennsylvania, US. It is the worst nuclear accident in US history based on radioactive material released. [124] It is classed as a Level 5 nuclear accident out of seven on the International Nuclear Event Scale. [125] [126]
In any operating nuclear reactor containing 238 U, some plutonium-239 will accumulate in the nuclear fuel. [5] Unlike reactors used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, commercial nuclear power reactors typically operate at a high burnup that allows a significant amount of plutonium to build up in irradiated reactor fuel.