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Pak building huge Plutonium production reactor
Pakistan has begun building a powerful new reactor for producing plutonium, a move which signals a major expansion of the country's nuclear weapons capabilities and a potential new escalation in the region's arms race, reports The Washington Post. 'Satellite photos of Pakistan's Khushab nuclear site show what appears to be a partially completed heavy-water reactor capable of producing enough plutonium for 40 to 50 nuclear weapons a year, a 20-fold increase from Pakistan's current capabilities, according to a technical assessment by Washington-based nuclear experts,' says the Post article. The site is adjacent to Pakistan's only plutonium production reactor, 'a modest, 50-megawatt unit that began operating in 1998. By contrast, the dimensions of the new reactor suggest a capacity of 1,000 megawatts or more, according to the analysis by the Institute for Science and International Security, (ISIS). Pakistan is believed to have 30 to 50 uranium warheads, which tend to be heavier and more difficult than plutonium warheads to mount on missiles,' says the Post. Posted by: john 2006-07-24 |
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