Although the US government and the nuclear industry go to great pains to give the impression that nuclear weapons and nuclear power are separate and different animals, there are many connections.  The connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons have always been extensive and are largely kept secret. This has led to a culture of secrecy throughout both industries that is antithetical to democracy and has given rise to a long history of false claims and outright lies.  But we do know that history shows – and recent events reveal – a different story than that being pushed by nuclear power advocates.

The Birth of Nuclear Power

There is no question that nuclear power was born from the development of nuclear weapons; you could say they share the same DNA.  Shortly after WW II – in 1946 – Congress established the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to oversee the military nuclear complex.  In 1954 Congress gave AEC the job “of encouraging the use of nuclear power and regulating its safety.”   After all, making nuclear weapons and generating nuclear power depend on the same uranium fuel. The only difference is that, while naturally-occurring uranium ore is less than 1% fissionable U235, weapons grade fuel is enriched to from 20% to over 90% U235, and  nuclear power plant fuel is enriched to 5% U235. Now, for the new so-called “advanced” reactors, the enrichment level is 19.9% U235 – yes, just 0.1% below weapons grade.  Then again,it is not just about the making of fuel.

Bombs and Electricity

Here in the United States during the Cold War, the N-Reactor was built at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation along the Columbia River in Washington State for the purpose of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons and electricity for public utilities in the Pacific Northwest.  The N-Reactor began operating in 1963 to make plutonium for nuclear bombs, a year later, 1964, it began producing electricity.  It continued in that mode, producing plutonium and electricity, until 1986 when it came to light that its design was similar to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor.  Of course, the US was not alone in using nuclear reactors for dual purposes.  The United Kingdom’s first nuclear power plants were built primarily to provide fissile material for nuclear weapons during the Cold War.  We also know that other countries – for instance India and Pakistan – developed nuclear weapons by starting with nuclear power plants. Now other countries are looking into it.

Beyond safety and security concerns, nuclear technologies pose proliferation risks. Nuclear technologies are dual-use; that is, they can be used for both civilian and military purposes. The domestic development of an ostensibly peaceful nuclear power program and the enrichment facilities needed to fuel it can provide the means for a non-nuclear weapons state to create nuclear weapons. (See Will nuclear proliferation challenges limit a significant expansion of global nuclear power? Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.)

It is no secret that Iran’s nuclear program relies on its nuclear power plant to supply material for nuclear weapons.  In response Saudi Arabia has said it would seek a nuclear arsenal.

Helping Big Brother

Another connection is the production of depleted uranium weapons.  The US first developed depleted uranium weapons in the 1950s.  During that period and through the 1970s the Defense Department relied on reprocessed uranium extracted from spent nuclear reactor fuel in order to reclaim the U-235 that did not fission.  As far as we know, the Department of Defense is currently getting its depleted uranium from the U.S. Department of Energy. Where exactly they are getting it is not known. (See “Depleted Uranium” International Atomic Energy Agency.)

The first use of these weapons was in the first Gulf War and we are now seeing the impacts on those in Iraq who have been exposed to left-over munitions.  Depleted uranium  munitions are now being sent by US and UK  to Ukraine.  Also, in the war in Ukraine we’ve seen a nuclear power plant being used as  a nuclear weapon.  As physician Helen Caldecott warned us in the 1980s “If you have a nuclear power plant, your enemy does not need a nuclear weapon.”

 What’s Next

Nuclear advocates have a grand plan to blanket the United States, and for that matter the globe, with nuclear reactors.  What could possibly go wrong?

Below in the Resources section you will find papers, articles, videos, etc. documenting nuclear power costs along with solar, wind, and energy efficiency.