Recycling Nuclear WarheadsInto Electricity (NAPSA)—How many nuclear warheads does it take to power a light bulb? The answeris no joke. Since 1995, a joint U.S.-Russian governmentinitiative known as Megatons to Megawatts has recy- cled weapons-grade uranium equivalent to 8,000 Russian nuclear warheads into fuel used by American power plants to produce electricity. That’s enough fuel to power an entire city the size of Boston or Seattle for about 300 years. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the 20-year, $8 billion program, which is charged with eliminating the proliferation threat from 500 metric tons of This year marks the 10“ anniver- sary of a program that recycles Russian nuclear warheads into fuel for American powerplants. Russian weapons-grade uranium— cial nuclear powerplants. American homes, businesses, watts, commercial nuclear power plants are proving to be the most effective means of eliminating excess nuclear warhead material and reducing the proliferation equivalent to 20,000 warheads. The program has been so successful that today about one in 10 schools and hospitals receives electricity from nuclear power plants fueled by recycled Russian warheads. It works like this: In Russia, the bomb-grade uranium is diluted into safe powerplant fuel, which can no longer be used in weapons. Then, the fuel is purchased by USEC Inc., the U.S. government’s executive agent. USEC sells the fuel to its large base of power plant customers across America. The program is completely funded by USEC, which has paid Russia more than $3 billion to date for the uranium fuel. No taxpayer funds are required. USEC, an investor-owned company, is the world’s leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commer- Through Megatons to Mega- threat. To date, more than 100 American nuclear power reactors—virtually the entire U.S. fleet—has used Megatons to Megawatts fuel. Experts consider the Megatons to Megawatts program a “win-win” idea: it helps eliminate stores of weapons-grade uranium, which is actively being sought by terrorists and rogue nations. At the same time, the program converts the warhead material into a valuable resource: fuel used to light and power Americafrom coast to coast. This is a unique example of how the private sector helps advance national and world security. For more information, visit www.USEC.com.
