Nuclear Weapons and Fissile Materials

Separated Plutonium around the World
COUNTRY

Neutron generator

Primary(trigger)

Chemical explosive
Plutonium
Beryllium

SecondaryHighly Enriched Uranium(HEU)
Lithium deuteride(fusion fuel)Highly Enriched Uranium(HEU)

RussiaUnited States
FranceChina

United KingdomIsrael

Pakistan
Deuterium-tritium gasFoam

Depleted uranium case

Conceptual diagram of a typical nuclear warhead
Source: Frank von Hippel, et al. “Unmaking the Bomb,”
MIT Press, 2014, p. 40 (with some modifications)
There are two types of nuclear weapons: an atomic bomb
(A-bomb), which uses nuclear fission reactions to releaseenergy, and a hydrogen bomb (H-bomb), also known as athermonuclear weapon, which uses nuclear fission andfusion reactions. An atomic bomb releases an amount ofenergy equivalent to one kiloton of TNT, whereas a hydrogen bomb releases an amount of energy equivalent to a
megaton of TNT.
The figure above is a conceptual diagram of a typical
nuclear warhead. Nuclear fusion reactions are triggeredby the energy from the plutonium bomb, and highly
enriched uranium is used to sustain this reaction efficiently. The model shown in the figure is based on the designof a W-87 nuclear warhead of a U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, which has an estimated yield of about 300
kilotons.

India

North Korea
Japan（㌧）use (tons)
Military use (tons) 非軍事用
Non-military

94.0
38.4
6.0
2.9
3.2
0.92
0.31
7.07
0.04

＊
Other
non-nuclear weapon states

SubtotalTotal

152.8

523.0

93.0
49.4
65.4
0.04
113.0

Highly Enriched Uranium around the World
COUNTRY
RussiaUnited States
FranceChina

United Kingdom
Israel

0.4
47.3
1.6
370.1

Non-separated plutonium that remains in spent nuclear fuel is
not included. Estimates for military plutonium except those for
the U.S. and U.K. contain large uncertainties. It is estimatedthat the Nagasaki bomb contained 6 kg of plutonium.
*Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany, etc.

All of the five major nuclear powers have closed their military
reprocessing facilities. However, India, Pakistan, Israel, andNorth Korea have small-scale military reprocessing facilities.
Three nuclear powers, namely the United Kingdom, Russia,and France, operate large-scale reprocessing facilities fornon-military use, and China plans to import this technology
from France. Non-nuclear weapon states such as Germany
and Belgium have operated research facilities in the past.
Currently, only Japan has a large-scale reprocessing facility,
which is pending approval for operation. Non-nuclear countries other than Japan are intending to significantly reduce,and eventually eliminate, their supplies of separated plutonium. Germany already has eliminated its domestic holdings.

1-14, Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521
TEL: +81-95-819-2252 FAX: +81-95-819-2165
http://www.recna.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/recna/pcu-nagasaki-council

PCU Nagasaki Council for
Nuclear Weapons Abolition (PCU-NC)

CONTACT

Modern nuclear weapons usually contain both highly
enriched uranium and plutonium. These fissile materials
are acquired through either uranium enrichment facilities
or reprocessing facilities and technologies.

Pakistan
India

North Korea＊
Other
non-nuclear weapon states

Subtotal

Military use (tons)

670.0
478.9
26.0
14.0
19.8
0.3
3.6
4.4
0.45
1,217.5

Non-military use (tons)

9.0
92.1
5.19
0.24
1.2

15.0
122.81,340.3

Total

Estimates for military HEU (Highly Enriched Uranium)
except those for the U.S. and U.K. contain large uncertainties. It is estimated that the Hiroshima bomb contained 64
kg of HEU.
*13 countries are estimated to have at least 1 kg of HEU(see the poster. Spain has only plutonium and no HEU). The
data on the amount each country has is considered confidential, and is not made public.

All five of the major nuclear powers have ceased producing military-use highly enriched uranium (HEU). However,India and Pakistan’ s production facilities continue to be
operational. Israel possesses some military-use HEU
acquired from other countries, but has no enrichment
facilities of its own.
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, the United
Kingdom, China, Japan, Iran and the United States havenon-military enrichment facilities. Other countries, including Brazil, are also attempting to construct new facilities.
In addition, the United States has plans to build new
non-military enrichment facilities.

Dec 2019
PCU Nagasaki Council for Nuclear WeaponsAbolition (PCU-NC)
Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition,Nagasaki University (RECNA)

Please see the website for further details. We
hope this guide will aid those using the poster inunderstanding background information andterminology in simple, plain terms. It should be
especially useful in the education field, particularlyin schools.

PCU Nagasaki Council for
Nuclear Weapons Abolition (PCU-NC)
Research Center for Nuclear WeaponsAbolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA)

108,104(http://www.recna.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/recna/en-fmdata).

The detailed data of this poster, which was compiledby the Fissile Material Data Monitoring Team, including
RECNA staff, has been published on our website“The World’s Fissile Material Inventory” poster is
an illustration of the materials which can be used
for nuclear weapons (namely highly enricheduranium and separated plutonium), with theinformation organized by country and by purpose
for easier understanding. This poster was madeby the Nagasaki Council for Nuclear WeaponsAbolition (PCU-NC) and the Research Center for
Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University(RECNA) for all audiences, from elementary
school students to adults. As part of the peaceeducation efforts carried out every August at
Hiroshima’s and Nagasaki’s Atomic BombMemorials, we present annual updates on thelatest information every June.

2019.12
The World’s Fissile Material Inventory
Poster & Guide

A Guide to the World’s
Fissile Material Inventory

INTRODUCTION

is an artificial radioactive element
Plutonium that
does not exist in nature and isgenerated from a nuclear reactor. Spent nuclear fuel discharged
from light water reactors, which are dominantly used throughout
the world, contains about 1% plutonium by weight. Plutonium canbe recovered from spent nuclear fuel, leaving uranium and fission
products, in what is referred to as “reprocessing”.

Several isotopes of plutonium exist, but compositions can vary withthe operational conditions of the nuclear reactors. The plutonium
recovered from spent fuel at nuclear power plants typically contains about 60% plutonium-239 (reactor-grade). In contrast, the plutonium recovered from spent fuel at military
production reactors contain 90% or more plutonium-239 (weapons-grade).
Reactor-grade plutonium contains a large amount of plutonium-240, which can reduce
the yield, and is considered not optimal for nuclear weapons. However, this does notchange the fact that reactor-grade plutonium has an explosive power that surpasses
conventional weapons. Reactor-grade plutonium can still be incorporated into moreadvanced design techniques, and can make large weapons more destructive.

Military and Non-military

Plutonium

Military: Plutonium used innuclear warheads or stored foruse in weapons; plutonium thatis reserved for possible militaryuses in the future
Non-military: Plutonium separated from spent nuclear fuel from anuclear reactor for non-military
purposes; plutonium declared as
surplus for nuclear weapons

Existing Raw Materials Can
Create Many Atomic Bombs
It is estimated that the Hiroshimabomb had 64 kg of HEU, and that

the Nagasaki bomb had 6 kg of plutonium. The amount of fissile mate-rial that each country has is repre-

sented by this bar graph and corresponds to the number of thesebombs that could be producedwith these materials. Both darkcolors represent raw materials formilitary use.

Downward Trend in HEU and
Upward Trend in Plutonium
Military-use HEU accounts for 92%
of all highly enriched uranium. In

the last ten years, 75 tons of military HEU and 196 tons of non-mili-tary-use HEU have been eliminated. In contrast, non-military-use

plutonium accounts for 71% of all
plutonium. In the last ten years,

the amount of military-use plutonium has been reduced by 17 tons,

but there has been an increase in
non-military-use plutonium of 41tons.

The Raw Materials Used in Making Nuclear Weapons

Plutonium

Uraniuma natural radioactive element. In nature, mostUranium isuranium
is found as the less fissionable uranium-238 (99.3%). Only 0.7% of uranium is the fissile uranium-235. Thus
nuclear fission is used to increase the concentration of uranium-235 in aprocess called “uranium enrichment.”
Uranium enriched to 20% or more is believed to be usable for weapons, andis referred to as “Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU).” Typical nuclear weapons
use uranium enriched to 90% or higher. On the other hand, nuclear fuel used
in a nuclear power plant typically has a 3–5% concentration, and is referred
to as “low-enriched uranium (LEU).”

It is still possible to produce highly enriched uranium, even in civilian facilities
that produce low-enriched uranium. Take for example an enrichment facility with a supply
capacity of 130 tons of low-enriched uranium per year, which enables operation of agigawatt class power plant for a year. From 150 tons of natural uranium it is possible toproduce 100 kg of 93% highly enriched uranium (equivalent to four atomic bombs) in oneyear. In addition, from 4% low-enriched uranium it is possible to also produce 100 kg of 93%
highly enriched uranium, but in just eight days. However, thanks to inspections conductedby the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is not easy for non-nuclear weapon states tosecretly manufacture highly enriched uranium in safeguarded civilian nuclear facilities.

Highly enriched uranium and plutonium are essential raw materials for
producing nuclear weapons. These are obtained via uranium enrichment
or reprocessing technologies and facilities. Some countries haveso-called “nuclear fuel cycle” facilities for nuclear power generation. However, even small-scale nuclear fuel cycle facilities have the capability toproduce fissile materials for military purposes, significantly increasing therisk of nuclear weapons proliferation.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes it is possible tomanufacture a nuclear weapon with 25 kg of uranium-235 or 8 kg of plutonium.

Military and Non-military

Highly Enriched
Uranium (HEU)
Military: HEU used in nuclear
warheads or stored for use inweapons; HEU used in reactor
fuel for naval nuclear propulsion(including spent fuel)Non-military: HEU used in fuelfor research and testing reactors;
HEU declared as surplus formilitary purposes

Japan’s High Amount ofPlutonium as a Non-Nuclear
Weapon StateJapan has almost 9% of the world’ s
separated plutonium, possessing

the fifth largest amount of separated
plutonium after Russia, the United
Kingdom, the United States, andFrance. In contrast, the othernon-nuclear weapon states combined possess only 0.3% of theworld’ s separated plutonium. From

this one can tell that Japan is a very
unique outlier.

Reducing Fissile Materials isa Huge Challenge
All of the global fissile materials
combined are equivalent to morethan 100,000 of the Hiroshima andNagasaki bombs. It is estimated that
there are 13,880 nuclear warheads inthe world. In other words, the worldis capable of developing many times
more nuclear weapons than it currently possesses.
Fissile materials will remain even if
all of the world’s nuclear weapons aredismantled. The elimination of fissile
materials must be done in a mannerthat ensures we never again return
to manufacturing nuclear warheads.