4 ms·
Hah. What's the Pu240/Pu239 ratio in the most recently loaded set of fuel rods in any given moment?
by Schroedingersat 4y ago
Hah.
What's the Pu240/Pu239 ratio in the most recently loaded set of fuel rods in any given moment?
- p_l 4y agoUnless the fuel rods were highly enriched, below usable for reprocessing. It's literally why USA had been more or less legally trying to stop everyone from running highly-enriched fuels in reactor (or generally make itself a nuisance for projects that in turn require no enrichment at all, because that stops dependency on limited enrichment facilities).
- Schroedingersat 4y agoYou're conflating two things and applying them to a third unrelated situation. High enriched U is a proliferation risk because it's easier to enrich to weapons grade. Fuel rods that have been through a full fuel cycle are 'useless' because of the Pu 240. Fuel rods that have been in a reactor for 1-2 years (present in every 'civilian' reactor at all times) are neither of these things. And contain weapons grade Pu that can be used if you have Pu separation facilities.