US experts says "NO" to reprocessing for plutonium . . . .

[Oscar]

Canada's support for nuclear project draws criticism

[ https://www.ledevoir.com/economie/60441 ... -critiques ]

May 26, 2021 ***Translation available online. . .

Moltex proposes to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from the Point Lepreau plant in New Brunswick.

American experts, former senior officials and advisers to the United States government denounce Canada's support for the extraction of plutonium from a power plant in New Brunswick.

Developing technology that would allow reuse of the chemical element would undermine the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, they write in a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. [ http://ccnr.org/Open_Letter_to_Trudeau_2021.pdf ]

These specialists express their "concerns" about Ottawa's financial support to Moltex. The British company is proposing to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from the Point Lepreau plant, near Saint John, New Brunswick.

The goal: to reuse plutonium to power what should be the world's first small modular reactor (PRM) with stable salts.

In recent months, the federal government has increased its investment announcements to develop the SMR sector. These nuclear power plants have a production capacity of less than 300 MW, which is less than the power of typical reactors, which generally oscillate between 700 MW and 1,500 MW.

In mid-March, the federal government was investing $ 50.5 million in the Moltex project. For its part, Ontario Power Generation - a company that produces and markets electricity in Ontario - has injected $ 1 million to help the company "demonstrate the technical viability" of its reprocessing technology.

The petitioners

"We understand your government's desire to support nuclear power and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, but saving the world from climate catastrophe does not have to conflict with saving it from nuclear weapons," write the authors of the letter.

The Canadian position would have the effect of "undermining the global nuclear non-proliferation regime that Canada has done so much to strengthen," they say.

Among the signatories are academic luminaries and former diplomats including Robert L. Gallucci, a former diplomat under the Clinton administration responsible for negotiations with North Korea.

Eventually exported, Moltex's technology could make it easier for countries that do not have nuclear weapons to access a resource necessary for their development.

Experts point out that India was able to develop a nuclear weapon in 1974 thanks to the extraction of plutonium from a Canadian CANDU reactor.

“We urge you to organize high-level reviews of the non-proliferation and environmental implications of the Moltex reprocessing proposal,” they write.

Counterproductive reprocessing

These reviews would certainly prove, according to them, that reprocessing is in fact counterproductive in terms of denuclearization and in terms of the environment.

Let us remember that Canada is one of the main countries on the international scene to negotiate the adoption of a treaty banning the production of fissile materials.

The purpose of this treaty is to end the production of materials, such as plutonium and enriched uranium, which give nuclear weapons their explosive power.

[Oscar]

US experts to Prime Minister Trudeau: Canada's support for plutonium fuel undermines global efforts to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons

[

Media Release (May 26, 2021)

Attached is an open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau from nine US Arms Control and Non-proliferation experts, most of them former government officials and advisors. [ http://ccnr.org/Open_Letter_to_Trudeau_2021.pdf ]

The letter expresses concern about the Canadian government’s financial support of Moltex – a startup nuclear company that proposes to extract plutonium from CANDU irradiated nuclear fuel. Moltex plans to recover the contained plutonium for use in a proposed molten-salt-cooled reactor. In March 2021, the federal government gave Moltex a $50.5 million grant to support the plutonium extraction project.

However, plutonium is the primary nuclear explosive in the world’s nuclear arsenals. After it is extracted from used nuclear fuel it can be used in nuclear weapons. The American experts warn that the Government of Canada, by backing the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel to extract plutonium, will undermine the global nuclear weapons nonproliferation regime.

Frank N. von Hippel is the point of contact for the letter: fvhippel@princeton.edu

Dr. von Hippel asked us to share this open letter with the Canadian media. Journalists are welcome to contact us for further background information. Note that the letter in English is the official version, but we have provided a French translation to facilitate understanding.

Dr. Gordon Edwards, President, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, in Montreal
ccnr@web.ca | 514-839-7214

Dr. Susan O'Donnell, Adjunct Professor, University of New Brunswick, in Fredericton
susanodo@unb.ca | 506-261-1727

[Oscar]

US Experts to Trudeau: Your Nuclear Dream May Turn Nightmare

[ https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2021/05/26/ ... lRLfBo6Ojk ]

Rethink backing the Moltex reactor, urge nine non-proliferation heavyweights.

Michael Harris | TheTyee.ca MAy 26, 2021

Michael Harris, a Tyee contributing editor, is a highly-awarded journalist and documentary maker. His investigations have sparked four commissions of inquiry.

(PHOTO: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit in
Washington, DC. His government is backing a new generation of reactors US experts now warn could fuel nuclear weapons proliferation. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick, the Canadian Press.)

A blue-ribbon group of American nuclear non-proliferation experts warns that Canada’s investment in new nuclear technology could lead to the spread of nuclear weapons and new threats to the environment.

“We write as U.S. non-proliferation experts and former government officials and advisors with related responsibilities to express our concern about your government’s financial support of Moltex — a startup company that proposes to reprocess CANDU spent fuel to recover its contained plutonium for use in molten-salt-cooled reactors.”

The warning came in the form of an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that was delivered on Tuesday and signed by the nine experts.

The group is spearheaded by Frank von Hippel, professor and senior research physicist at Princeton University; it includes Matthew Bunn, the Schlesinger professor of the practise of energy, national security, and foreign policy at the Harvard Kennedy School; and Thomas Countryman, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for non-proliferation.

“We understand your government’s motivation to support nuclear power and to reduce fossil fuel use but saving the world from climate disaster need not be in conflict with saving it from nuclear weapons. Also, like other reprocessing efforts, Moltex, even in the R&D stage, would create a costly legacy of contaminated facilities and radioactive waste streams, and require substantial additional government funding for cleanup and stabilization prior to disposal,” they wrote. . . . .