Britain's Policies on Fissile Materials: The Next Steps
Plutonium and highly-enriched uranium (HEU) are the essential 'fissile materials' used in nuclear weapons. Since 1945, about 3,000 tonnes of these materials have been produced world-wide, of which some 2,000 tonnes (1,760 tonnes of HEU and 230 tonnes of plutonium) have been produced for military purposes and 1,000 tonnes (almost entirely plutonium) have arisen within the civilian fuel-cycle. The regulation of fissile materials now occupies a central place in nuclear arms control and non-proliferation policy. Furthermore, any act of nuclear disarmament, as events in Iraq and South Africa have recently shown, must entail the meticulous recording and verification of all fissile materials acquired by the country in question. To be plausible, a project of global disarmament would therefore hinge upon the ability and willingness of all nation states to reveal their material inventories, submit them and associated production facilities to rigorous international verification, and dispose of residual stocks. As the summary table shows, Britain holds substantial inventories of fissile materials, particularly as a consequence of its long involvement in civil reprocessing. Its policies will affect significantly, and
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Approximate Word count = 14040
Approximate Pages = 56 (250 words per page double spaced)
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