Trump Plan to Give Old Nuclear Material to Companies Worries Experts

The Trump government wants to give plutonium from old nuclear weapons to private energy companies. This plutonium came from weapons built during the Cold War many years ago. However, many scientists and experts think this is a bad idea. They say it could be dangerous and cost too much money.

Right now, no nuclear power plants in America can use plutonium fuel. Instead, all U.S. nuclear plants use uranium fuel. This uranium fuel has two types mixed together. About 5 percent is uranium-235, which can make weapons. The other 95 percent is uranium-238, which cannot make weapons by itself.

Scott Roecker works for a group that tries to stop nuclear disasters. He explains that getting nuclear material is the hardest part of making a weapon. The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars removing dangerous nuclear materials from other countries. They do this to keep the world safer.

Plutonium is different from uranium because it does not exist in nature. Nuclear reactors make plutonium when uranium-238 gets hit by tiny particles called neutrons. The uranium then changes into uranium-239, which becomes plutonium. This plutonium is very radioactive and dangerous.

Some special nuclear reactors called mixed oxide reactors can use plutonium mixed with uranium as fuel. However, America stopped using these reactors in the 1970s. They were too hard to run and cost too much money. Other countries like Japan, Russia, and France still use them, but they have problems too.

The Energy Department says any company that gets plutonium must prove they understand the technology. They must also show they have good security plans and follow all rules. But some politicians in Congress are worried about this plan and think it could help terrorists get nuclear weapons.