An Examination of Methods of Proliferation Control for Application to Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Facilities*

The threat of proliferation with its inherent dangers is not new, nor has it only recently been recognized. Much of the threat of proliferation has focused on reprocessing facilities and their production of plutonium. President Carter has severely restricted the \"closing of the nuclear fuel cycle\" because of his concern regarding potential misuse of nuclear materials, especially plutonium. Plans of several foreign countries to supply reprocessing facilities to others have been indefinitely postponed or abandoned. This paper examines the potential methods that could be applied to the nuclear fuel reprocessing facility as a means of more effectively controlling the proliferation threat and, at the same time, permitting the further development of nuclear power as an energy source. The proposed remedies for this problem are basically technical or economic and political in nature and include: \"technical fixes\", institutional arrangements, and international political solutions. Each of these approaches to the problem is examined, along with a consideration of their interaction and an estimation of their effectiveness, either individually or in combination.