The Utilization of Russian Weapons Plutonium in Canadian CANDU Reactors: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

Between 1994 and 1996, AECL in cooperation with Ontario Hydro and Zircatec Precision Industries undertook a series of studies funded by the United States Department of Energy to determine the feasibility of utilizing weapons Plutonium, surplus to military needs, as Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel in Canadian CANDU reactors. The Bruce A N.G.S. was used as the reference station for the study. One of the conclusions of these studies was that the CANDU option allowed for the possibility to also utilize Russian surplus plutonium and thus offered the two nuclear powers the possibility of symmetric drawdown of their surplus stockpiles. Starting in the spring of 1996, the Canadian Government funded a similar study on the feasibility of manufacturing CANDU MOX fuel in Russia and safely transporting this fuel to the Bruce site. The study was undertaken by a joint Canadian/Russian team comprised of AECL, Ontario Hydro, Zircatec Precision Industries, the Ministry for Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (MINATOM) and several of its institutes and was concluded in the spring of 1997. This paper presents some of the key findings of the joint Russian/Canadian study.