We will discuss this issue further in Chapter 8 on policy. Most options that would minimize accessibility of plutonium for use in nuclear warheads or radiation dispersal weapons fail on one or more of the criteria listed at the beginning of this chapter. We list them in the Table 2 and indicate the main reasons for doing so. We refer the reader to the NAS study for further discussion of these options. There is an extensive literature on plutonium disposition as MOX fuel.
Vitrification is central to our recommendations on plutonium disposition.
Some vitrification options have not yet been debated and explored in published policy literature to the extent that we feel is warranted by their relative merit. We will also discuss long-term plutonium disposition issues, since none of the options for minimizing accessibility actually get rid of all the plutonium. Return to Publications Main Page Return to IEER Home Page Notes 19. NAS 1994, pp. NAS 1994, p. 144.