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Be Forewarned

Laser Enrichment of Uranium: Power Promises and Proliferation Perils Dr. Charles D. Ferguson Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology October 26, 2009. Be Forewarned . Those who know the full details can’t reveal them (nondisclosure agreements)

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Be Forewarned

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  1. Laser Enrichment of Uranium: Power Promises and Proliferation PerilsDr.Charles D. FergusonPhilip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and TechnologyOctober 26, 2009

  2. Be Forewarned • Those who know the full details can’t reveal them (nondisclosure agreements) • Those who don’t know all of the details but who can assess the proliferation risks can and should still talk and inform the public the best they can Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  3. Outline of Talk • Brief tutorial on laser isotope separation (LIS) of uranium • What is known about the SILEX method of enrichment being developed in Wilmington, NC, by Global Laser Enrichment? • What are the challenges in detecting and safeguarding LIS facilities? • What is the proliferation risk and what assessments are needed? Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  4. Why enrich uranium? • Natural uranium contains 0.72 percent U-235, 99.28 percent U-238, and 0.0054 U-234 • U-235 is the fissile isotope useful for nuclear reactors and bombs. • Most commercial reactor fuels require low enriched uranium (LEU): usually 3-5% enriched in U-235 • Nuclear bombs require highly enriched uranium (HEU): typically greater than 90% enriched but even approximately 80% enriched uranium can be useful for bombs Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  5. What is Laser Isotope Separation (LIS) ? • Use of lasers to selectively excite U-235, the fissile isotope, from the much more abundant isotope U-238 • Promises to provide improved enrichment method as compared to first generation gaseous diffusion and second generation gaseous centrifugation methods • Two types of LIS: • AVLIS (Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation) • Molecular Laser Isotope Separation (MLIS) Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  6. AVLIS Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  7. MLIS • 16 micron wavelength infrared (IR) laser excites uranium-235 hexafluoride (UF6) gas • Another laser (either IR or UV) dissociates a fluorine atom to form uranium-235 pentafluoride (UF5), which precipitates out as a white powder • Similar techniques: MOLIS and CRISLA • A single stage MLIS device will not produce high enough concentration of LEU  need to link multiple stages in a cascade Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  8. What countries have explored LIS? • At least 20 countries are known to have investigated this method. • Includes: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Stares, and Yugoslavia • During the past decade, LIS research uncovered in Iran and South Korea have raised proliferation concerns. Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  9. Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation (SILEX) • Development work began in Australia in 1990s • USEC began collaboration with Australian researchers in 1996. • USEC acquired rights to SILEX in 2000. • But due to unspecified technical and market concerns, USEC relinquished the license in 2003. • In 2006, Silex Corporation made an exclusive license with GE’s Nuclear Energy Division. • In 2007, GE’s Nuclear Energy Division forms an alliance with Hitachi Corporation of Japan. (GEH Corporation) • Later in 2007, Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) corporation is formed. • In 2008, Cameco, a uranium mining, conversion, and fuel fabrication company headquartered in Canada, buys 24% stake in GLE. • This year, GLE is reportedly moving ahead with Test Loop operations. Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  10. How does SILEX work? • Recall the cautionary note about those who know and those who don’t know the full details  Classified project • Uses mixture of UF6 with a carrier gas (proprietary info) • Mixture is cooled to separate resonance peaks of U-235 and U-238 • 16 μm laser selectively excites 235UF6 • One or more infrared laser frequencies may be used. • A Raman conversion cell is used to convert the 10.8 μm laser pulses into 16 μm pulses. • The actual separation efficiency is classified and so is the repetition rate of the laser pulses as well as the pulse widths. • High repetition rates (> 250 Hz) and narrow pulse widths (< 100 ns) are most desirable to enrich enough uranium -- John L. Lyman, “Enrichment Separative Capacity for SILEX,” Report for Los Alamos National Laboratory Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  11. What are the reported advantages of SILEX? • “Low power consumption and capital costs. • Relatively simple and practical separation modules. • Modular technology providing versatility in deployment” • Projected enrichment efficiency 2 to 20 as compared to 1.3 for the centrifuge method. --www.silex.com.au • Would a successful SILEX enrichment plant spark a corporate “arms race” among other nuclear companies? • If successful, the real secret would be revealed—the fact that the process can be done to a scale that can make large quantities of enriched uranium. Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  12. Why is LIS comparatively hard to detect and can it be safeguarded? • Small land area required as compared to diffusion and centrifuge methods—perhaps only need a large warehouse • “The current international system is able to safeguard a declared LIS facility, but it is not able to timely detect the diversion of significant amounts of uranium to a LIS facility.” --David Daniels, presentation to 1999 Science & World Affairs conference • Advanced technologies could “outflank” export controls in “nations with moderate-size economies during the first decades of the twenty-first century.” –Stanley Erickson, LANL report, October 2001. Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  13. Why SILEX may not pose a major proliferation concern • Many elements of the SILEX system are technically challenging. • Hard to make well-collimated stream of gas • Details of carrier gas closely held • Very advanced laser system • Most likely would need large team of technical experts as well as significant financial resources Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

  14. The Next A.Q. Khan Black Market? • Dr. A. Q. Khan stole centrifuge designs from URENCO in the early 1970s and used this information to develop uranium enrichment for Pakistan’s bomb program. • Many experts then thought that Pakistan was too backward technologically to master enrichment. • Let’s not be caught by surprise by laser enrichment • Need for thorough analysis of the proliferation risks of this technology • Detailed assessments needed by NRC and DOE • Need to involve IAEA in these assessments • Will the increasing use of advanced lasers in civilian non-nuclear applications leak over to nuclear proliferation? • Can corporations agree not to pursue this technology? Laser Enrichment: Promises and Perils

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