Megatons to Megawatts project
Very cool idea - as reported in
Reuters/UK, about 10% of USA electrical power is produced from Russian nuclear materials.
bq. Few Americans realize that uranium once intended to destroy their civilization is now helping to keep it very much alive by powering televisions, microwaving dinners and chilling beer.
bq. Uranium extracted from Russian nuclear warheads helps supply about 10 percent of U.S. electricity, according to USEC, which has charge of the "Megatons to Megawatts" project that has helped Russia reap profits from previously loss-making nuclear disarmament.
Talk about a win--win situation:
bq.
PROFITABLE DISARMAMENT
"It has transformed the prior loss-making process of nuclear disarmament into an economically effective one," Valeriy Govorukhin, Russia's deputy minister of atomic energy, said in an interview earlier this year.
bq. "For Russia, this contract has not only contributed to an increase in international security, but has also been an important source for economic growth," he added.
This program was started in 1993 under President G.W. Bush's administration.
Posted by DaveH at March 15, 2004 9:44 AM