The management of separated plutonium: An introduction

This paper notes renewed enthusiasm in western countries for new nuclear power plant construction. Various energy and security challenges, however, remain contentious. One matter for which there is a wide variation of international practice concerns the management of separated plutonium arising from nuclear fuel reprocessing.This paper introduces a special issue of the journal Progress in Nuclear Energy dedicated to reporting on a conference held in Cambridge, England in July 2005. The workshop was tasked with considering long-term management options for separated civil plutonium. The authors express no opinion as to whether such plutonium is best regarded as a waste or an asset. Rather it is simply suggested that management practice may be improved via an open discussion of options originating from a wide range of contexts and perspectives. This paper introduces some of the relevant issues, which are considered in greater depth by the papers that follow in this special issue.