Swords to plowshares: nuclear bombs to electricity
Nuclear power’s resurgence in the United States is tied to a surprisingly effective program that is helping to make the world a safer place from nuclear weapons.
Known as the “megatons to megawatts” program, it has led to the elimination of huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons materials, thus making it much more difficult for rogue countries and terrorist groups to obtain them.
Established 15 years ago by the United States and Russia, the megatons to megawatts accord has a single goal: It calls for the conversion of 500 metric tons of highly enriched, bomb-grade uranium from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons into low-enriched uranium to be used at U.S. nuclear power plants to produce electricity.
The program has succeeded beyond all expectations. To date, 327 metric tons of Russia’s highly enriched uranium has been turned into nuclear fuel for use in U.S. commercial reactors, according to USEC Inc., the publicly traded company originally created by the U.S. Department of Energy. USEC is the U.S. government’s exclusive agent for the program.