Word: bomb
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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FOOTNOTE: *Uranium 235 (U-235) and plutonium 239 (Pu-239) are the radioactive elements used in atom bombs. Uranium enrichment is the process by which the concentration of U-235 in natural uranium is increased, eventually to weapons-grade material. From 33 to 55 lbs. of U-235 at roughly 93% purity can be used in a Hiroshima-size bomb. Reprocessing is the chemical procedure for extracting Pu-239 from the spent uranium fuel of nuclear reactors, where the plutonium is produced as a waste product. A breeder reactor uses plutonium as fuel rather than uranium: by atomic fission, additional...
...elsewhere, nonproliferation experts are concerned over an erosion of confidence in the inspection apparatus of the International Atomic Energy Agency; the system is designed to monitor adherence to nonproliferation standards. The concern focuses on the "safeguards" sponsored by the I.A.E.A. to detect the diversion of peaceful atomic technology to bomb-making purposes. Some experts fear that the safeguard scheme is inadequate to the task at hand, while others are worried that the lack of confidence can itself lead to further weakening of an inspection system that in large measure functions on a basis of trust...
...told, about 345 commercial nuclear power reactors are in operation in 26 countries, and some 52 nations have nuclear research facilities. At least eleven nations possess facilities for the reprocessing of nuclear fuels, all yielding varying amounts of plutonium. Large enrichment facilities to turn uranium into nuclear fuel, or bomb-grade material, exist in the U.S., the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, France and China. Commercial reprocessing plants to extract plutonium from used reactor fuel are located or planned in France, Britain, West Germany, Japan, India and the Soviet Union. Programs involving breeder reactors are under way in the Soviet Union...
...rate of proliferation could grow rapidly worse. Small, easily concealed new technologies for producing nuclear explosives are becoming available in world markets. Among them: high-speed centrifuges and still experimental laser systems for enriched-uranium production. Such systems could be engineered to produce the explosives needed to build the Bomb. Says Paul Leventhal, president of the Nuclear Control Institute, a Washington-based think tank: "History demonstrates that in the nuclear field, any technology ultimately is exported -- and Third World countries will...
Some of the phantoms are widely assumed to have atom bombs already or to be close to that goal. The major example of that ambiguous status known as having "a bomb in the basement" is Israel. The Israelis probably developed an atomic weapon as early as 1968, in all likelihood using reprocessed plutonium from their top-secret, French-built research reactor at Dimona, in the Negev desert. By 1973, Israel was believed to possess at least 13 nuclear weapons...