1. The penalty for using a reactor is that we must carry the weight of the reactor and its associated radiation shielding. 2. Advanced Nuclear Medical Systems, based in Richland, proposed using the reactor to make medical isotopes. 3. But state congressional leaders and Tri-cities business leaders are pushing to restart tritium production for weapons under the guise of someday using the reactor for medical isotopes. 4. It will be the first time in U.S. history that a commercial reactor will be used to produce material for nuclear bombs. 5. No other nation is officially known to be using commercial reactors to make bomb materials. 6. The first exports were to India, which assured Canada that the reactors would be used only for peaceful purposes. 7. The other is to negotiate additional safeguards, like those with North Korea, to prevent Tehran from using the reactors for bomb-making. 8. The reactor was being used as a test apparatus for studying technical problems that must be solved if the international reactor is to work as hoped. 9. There was a petition drive, a demonstration, even offers by the nuclear staff to have other departments use the reactor, all to no avail. 10. Ukraine is still using one reactor to generate badly needed electrical power. |