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Nuclear Materials
Nuclear material refers to the metals uranium, plutonium, and thorium, in any form, according to the IAEA. This is differentiated further into "source material", consisting of natural and depleted uranium, and "special fissionable material", consisting of enriched uranium (U-235), uranium-233, and plutonium-239. Uranium ore concentrates are considered to be a "source material", although these are not subject to safeguards under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC), there are four different types of regulated nuclear materials: special nuclear material, source material, byproduct material and radium. Special nuclear materials have plutonium, uranium-233 or uranium with U233 or U235 that has a content found more than in nature. Source material is thorium or uranium that has a U235 content equal to or less than what is in nature. Byproduct material is radioactive material that is not source or special nuclear material. It can be a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weakly radioactive because all isotopes of uranium are unstable; the half-lives of its naturally occurring isotopes range between 159,200 years and 4.5 billion years. The most common isotopes in natural uranium are uranium-238 (which has 146 neutrons and accounts for over 99% of uranium on Earth) and uranium-235 (which has 143 neutrons). Uranium has the highest atomic weight of the primordially occurring elements. Its density is about 70% higher than that of lead, and slightly lower than that of gold or tungsten. It occurs naturally in low concentrations of a few parts per million in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite. In nature, uranium is found as uranium-238 (99. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first test of a fission ("atomic") bomb released an amount of energy approximately equal to . The first thermonuclear ("hydrogen") bomb test released energy approximately equal to . Nuclear bombs have had yields between 10 tons TNT (the W54) and 50 megatons for the Tsar Bomba (see TNT equivalent). A thermonuclear weapon weighing as little as can release energy equal to more than . A nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can devastate an entire city by blast, fire, and radiation. Since they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a focus of international relations policy. Nuclear weapons have been d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Material Unaccounted For
Material unaccounted for (MUF), in the context of nuclear material, refers to any discrepancy between a nuclear-weapons state's physical inventory of nuclear material, and the book inventory. The difference can be either a positive discrepancy (an apparent gain of material) or a negative discrepancy (an apparent loss of material). Nuclear accounting discrepancies are commonplace and inevitable due to the problem of accurately measuring nuclear materials. This problem of inaccurate measurement provides a potential loophole for diversion of nuclear materials for weapons production. In a large plant, even a tiny percentage of the annual through-put of nuclear material will suffice to build one or more nuclear weapons. MUF is a term used within nuclear material monitoring, the organisational and physical tests used in the monitoring of fissile material and the detection of any impermissible removal. An associated term is limit of error for the material unaccounted for (LEMUF), meaning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Institute Of Nuclear Materials Management
The Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) is an international technical and professional organization that works to promote safe handling of nuclear material and the safe practice of nuclear materials management through publications, as well as organized presentations and meetings. The INMM's headquarters is located in Deerfield, Illinois in the United States, but its members are located around the world including Europe, Asia, South America and North America. There are more than 1,100 members and 32 chapters. Les Shephard, vice president of Sandia National Laboratories' Energy, Security, and Defense Technology Center, said in February 2009 of the INMM and the American Nuclear Society, Structure INMM is led by an executive committee of nine members, including a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, four members-at-large, and the immediate past president. In addition, INMM has several standing and two technical committees. Many organizations, such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tube Alloys
Tube Alloys was the research and development programme authorised by the United Kingdom, with participation from Canada, to develop nuclear weapons during the Second World War. Starting before the Manhattan Project in the United States, the British efforts were kept classified, and as such had to be referred to by code even within the highest circles of government. The possibility of nuclear weapons was acknowledged early in the war. At the University of Birmingham, Rudolf Peierls and Otto Robert Frisch co-wrote a memorandum explaining that a small mass of pure uranium-235 could be used to produce a chain reaction in a bomb with the power of thousands of tons of TNT. This led to the formation of the MAUD Committee, which called for an all-out effort to develop nuclear weapons. Wallace Akers, who oversaw the project, chose the deliberately misleading code name "Tube Alloys". His Tube Alloys Directorate was part of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The Tube ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Nuclear Security Administration
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile; works to reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the United States Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the United States and abroad. Established by the United States Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semiautonomous agency within the United States Department of Energy. The current Administrator is Jill Hruby. History The National Nuclear Security Administration was created by Congressional action in 1999, in the wake of the Wen Ho Lee spy scandal (for which Dr. Lee was exonerated) and other allegations that lax administration by the Department of Energy had resulted in the loss of U.S. nuclear s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radioactive Waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons reprocessing. The storage and disposal of radioactive waste is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment. Radioactive waste is broadly classified into low-level waste (LLW), such as paper, rags, tools, clothing, which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity, intermediate-level waste (ILW), which contains higher amounts of radioactivity and requires some shielding, and high-level waste (HLW), which is highly radioactive and hot due to decay heat, so requires cooling and shielding. In nuclear reprocessing plants about 96% of spent nuclear fuel is recycled back into uranium-based and mixed-oxide (MOX) fuels. The residual 4% is minor actinides and fission products the latter of w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Waste Policy Act
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 is a United States federal law which established a comprehensive national program for the safe, permanent disposal of highly radioactive wastes. * The US Congress amended the act in 1987 to designate Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the sole repository. * The act allowed Nevada to override this designation, which it did in April 2002. * Congress overrode Nevada's veto in July 2002. * Nevada appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with Nevada in 2004. * At least one other jurisdiction (Aiken County, South Carolina in 2011) filed suit to force Yucca Mountain to accept the nuclear waste from the rest of the US. Historical overview During the first 40 years that nuclear waste was being created in the United States, no legislation was enacted to manage its disposal. Nuclear waste, some of which remains radioactive with a half-life of more than one million years, was kept in various types of temporary sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Department Of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States. The DOE oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and domestic energy production and energy conservation. The DOE was created in 1977 in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis. It sponsors more physical science research than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories. The DOE also directs research in genomics, with the Human Genome Project originating from a DOE initiative. The department is headed by the Secretary of Energy, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of Energy is Jennifer Granholm, who has served ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convention On The Physical Protection Of Nuclear Material
The Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material was adopted on 26 October 1979 in Vienna, Austria. The initial signing ceremony took place in Vienna and at New York on 3 March 1980, and the convention entered into force on 8 February 1987. The convention is deposited with the International Atomic Energy Agency. In July 2005 a diplomatic conference was convened to amend the convention and strengthen its provisions, as a result of which it was renamed the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities. As of October 2018, there are 157 state parties to the convention plus the European Atomic Energy Community. Upon accession, 38 countries declared themself as not bound by the provisions of Article 17 paragraph 2 and did not accept the competence of the International Court of Justice in settlement of the disputes. Five countries withdrew these objections thereafter. The United States Department of State says that: References Extern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atomic Energy Act Of 1954
The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. ยงยง 2011-2021, 2022-2286i, 2296a-2297h-13, is a United States federal law that covers for the development, regulation, and disposal of nuclear materials and facilities in the United States. It was an amendment to the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 and substantially refined certain aspects of the law, including increased support for the possibility of a civilian nuclear industry. Notably it made it possible for the government to allow private companies to gain technical information (Restricted Data) about nuclear energy production and the production of fissile materials, allowing for greater exchange of information with foreign nations as part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program, and reversed certain provisions in the 1946 law which had made it impossible to patent processes for generating nuclear energy or fissile materials. The H.R. 9757 legislation was passed by the 83rd U.S. Congressional session and signed into law ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Nuclear Material
Special nuclear material (SNM) is a term used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the United States to classify fissile materials. The NRC divides special nuclear material into three main categories, according to the risk and potential for its direct use in a clandestine nuclear weapon or for its use in the production of nuclear material for use in a nuclear weapon. Highly Enriched Uranium Category I Category I is strategic special nuclear material. *Uranium-235 (contained in highly enriched uranium: >20% or more 235U), *Uranium-233, or *Plutonium-239. Category I, SSNM means SSNM in any combination in a quantity of *2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) or more of Pu-239; or *5 kilograms or more of U-235 (11 pounds; contained in uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope); or *2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) or more of U-233; or *5 kilograms (11 pounds) or more in any combination computed by the equation grams = (grams contained U-235) + 2.5 (grams U-233 + grams Pu-239). This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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