ABSTRACT
The existence of the special nuclear materials, particularly plutonium-239, produced in reactors which were either ostensibly or actually operated for electricity production is one factor contributing to the increased risk of nuclear weapon proliferation. Were there no reprocessing of spent fuel from these reactors, plutonium-239 would be unavailable for at least the several hundred years during which the radioactivity of the fission products effectively prevents access to the spent fuel. There seem to be no compelling reasons why reprocessing is necessary for responsible management of the radioactive wastes. In several respects reprocessing complicates waste management or makes it less safe. However, neither waste management nor safeguards considerations have weighed heavily in the decisions whether or not to reprocess spent fuel. Of energy sources known to be viable options to replace the fossil fuels, only breeder reactors could, even theoretically, supply sufficient commercial energy to satisfy projections based on historical trends. The logic of the industrialized economies demands reprocessing and the breeder reactor, and rejects non-nuclear alternatives because these alternatives would not permit energy consumption rates tens of times greater than the present rate. Impediments such as possibly hazardous conditions associated with waste or plutonium management have been brushed aside by the ‘experts’ as hobgoblins of small minds.
