New Mexico Welcomes "Plutonium Futures-The Science" Conference

The field of actinide science has been shrinking for some time. While actinides, most prominently among them uranium and plutonium, are one of the most important energy sources worldwide, the adverse publicity resulting from the real or sometimes perceived nuclear danger has left this field in somewhat benign neglect from the scientific community. The public often recognizes the benefits provided by nuclear energy but does not wish to associate with the concomitant nuclear issues. Awakening the scientific community and the public interest to the need of dealing with the nuclear issues in such areas as nuclear waste, weapons dismantlement, contamination, and environmental cleanup is the first step toward solving some of the problems confronting us in the next several decades.

In August this year the Nuclear Materials Technology Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory will sponsor an international conference on the subject of plutonium in cooperation with the American Nuclear Society. The idea of holding the "Plutonium Futures - The Science" conference locally was conceived well over a year ago, and the conference program presented in this issue of the Actinide Research Quarterly is a witness to the preparation and enthusiasm of the organizers and participants alike. Nuclear issues are broad-ranging, and many are of a nontechnical nature. By focusing on the science, however, the conference aims to achieve a degree of balance in the current debates on all things nuclear. Also, it is important to recognize that nuclear issues are worldwide issues and therefore require broad-based participation and cooperation.

The impact of plutonium on worldly affairs, both domestic and international, has been so great and profound for a half century that plutonium may garner the distinguished title of "the element of the 20th century." The conference organizers recognize that there are a multitude of issues surrounding plutonium and other actinides and that both short- and long-term solutions to reducing the nuclear danger rest ultimately on the scientific and technological knowledge base. Thus one of the main objectives of the conference is to provide an opportunity to present and assess our current understanding of plutonium and actinide sciences and to bring focus on the science needed for solving important national and international issues associated with plutonium. Another equally important objective is to inform the public, our stakeholders as well as the scientists, and to attract today's students who will carry on the task of solving the nuclear issues into the next century.

The topics covered in this conference (scientific program on following pages) are multidisciplinary and include separations chemistry, transuranic waste, isotopes/nuclear fuels, detection and analysis, materials science, noble actinides compounds and complexes, and environmental and biosphere chemistry. Plenary topics by invited speakers and technical presentations will highlight important issues and new developments. There also will be exhibits showing the Los Alamos Plutonium Facility at Technical Area 55, plutonium work at Savannah River Technology Center, and an introductory exhibit featuring the Glenn Seaborg Transactinium Institute.

K. C. Kim

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