Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: U.S. Nuclear Agency OKs License for Laser Enrichment, Despite Worries

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

U.S. Nuclear Agency OKs License for Laser Enrichment, Despite Worries

A roadway marker points to nuclear fuel operations at a GE-Hitachi campus in North Carolina. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff on Tuesday issued a license for construction and operation of the nation’s first commercial laser uranium enrichment site (Tom Clements/Alliance for Nuclear Accountability).

By Elaine M. Grossman
Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON -- Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff on Tuesday issued the first U.S. commercial license ever for a process in which uranium is enriched by laser, opening what many issue experts have warned could be a new chapter in the global proliferation of sensitive atomic materials.
“This is going to further validate a new enrichment technology when we’re trying to get countries to restrict the old enrichment technologies, because they’re dangerous enough,” said one House aide, describing a concern held by several members of Congress. “How is this a positive for nonproliferation?”http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/us-nuclear-agency-oks-license-laser-enrichment-despite-worries/