America Now Disassembling Old Nuclear Warheads to Power Nuclear Reactors
A ban on Russian enriched uranium has companies scrambling. Nuclear and Present Numerous ventures are looking to develop small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) that are smaller and cheaper to build than traditional nuclear plants and can provide an in situ source of l0w-emission electricity. But especially since president Joe Biden signed a ban on the import of Russian-enriched uranium earlier this year, nuclear scientists have had to resort to some highly unusual sources. Case in point, as CNN reports, researchers and energy startups are now melting down weapons-grade uranium from unexploded warheads to power next-generation SMRs. The “couch cushion exercise,” as the Office of Nuclear Energy principal deputy assistant secretary Michael Goff called it, is a heartening example of converting weapons into something practical — not to mention a creative solution to a tricky technical problem. Power Struggle The uranium inside unexploded warheads isn’t the only source scientists are leveraging. Others have kickstarted a new supply chain of locally enriched uranium designed for reactors. There’s plenty of money in it, at least potentially. According to CNN, …
