Dealing with a Dangerous Surplus from the Cold War

In the aftermath of the Cold War, the management of surplus fissile materials has become an urgent task with profound environmental, national, and international security implications. Lawrence Livermore is a key player in a study launched by the Department of Energy to find a way to dispose of surplus weapons plutonium. The Laboratory's work consists of engineering to retrieve plutonium from nuclear weapon pits and to process it into a form usable for disposition as well as research and development for two disposition methods-immobilization by a ceramic or glass waste form and burial in deep geologic boreholes. DOE recently selected immobilization as one method of the dual disposition path it will implement for plutonium. Lawrence Livermore's work continues with research in ceramic and glass formulations to provide a scientific basis for DOE's decision on the method for immobilizing plutonium.

Research Highlights

Volcanoes: A Peek into Our Planet's Plumbing

Optical Networks: The Wave of the Future

and LLNL Disclaimers

UCRL-52000