Guest Editorial: Reducing the Nuclear Danger, Securing the Nuclear Future

Paul Cunningham, Program Director of the Nuclear Materials & Reconfiguration Technology Programs at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos has adopted the words of this title to be at the core of its institutional vision and mission for the future. How can we at the Laboratory make an impact? The answer lies in the responsible management of nuclear materials in the broad context: from guns, gates, and guards through stabilization and disposal of excess weapons materials, and, ultimately, through nuclear power. Three major issues surrounding our mission are nonproliferation, the environment, and national security.

Nonproliferation: Reducing the risk of proliferation requires secure storage and careful disposition of fissile materials. New treatment technologies and standards are needed to meet the requirement for long-term storage. For example, the ARIES (Advanced Recovery and Integrated Extraction System) hydride-dehydride system-an R&D 100 winner-removes plutonium from pits in an unclassified form for subsequent international verification.

The environment: Process residues and wastes remain and must be stabilized at various Department of Energy nuclear sites. Transportable modular systems employing advanced processing technologies offer the potential for cost-effective and timely eradication of this difficult Cold War legacy.

National security: The world is a safer place with a dependable U.S. stockpile than with one that is uncertain or nonexistent. Stockpile management, including pit surveillance and rebuilding, is essential to assure the continued safety and reliability of our nuclear arsenal.

What about the global picture? Experience has shown that U.S. leadership through example can influence other nations in areas such as arms control and disarmament (if not so effectively in nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle). There is concern today, not only over the status of weapon plutonium in the former Soviet Union, but also over the growing number of nations separating plutonium in their commercial nuclear power fuel cycle. The U.S. now has opportunities to exercise leadership in disposition technology that may ultimately lead to minimization of world plutonium inventories while extracting maximum energy benefits needed for future growth.

In all of these areas, the capabilities and facilities of the Los Alamos plutonium programs are vital. We should be proud of our contributions in the past and confident of our ability to lead in the future. The Laboratory goals-reducing the nuclear danger and securing the nuclear future-will guide our priorities as we approach the next century.

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