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Subject: NY Post : yes we can assume Iran is after nukes - not electricity
reefdiver    11/14/2007 6:53:58 PM
Talking about Baradei and his upcoming report, the NY Post says: From: http://www.nypost.com/seven/11142007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/a_blind_eye_on_irans_nukes_619604.htm?page=3 (note: this is on page 3 of a 3 page article) His (Baradei) report should (state...) unequivocally that Iran has violated the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on 32 issues over more than 18 years. He should also expose Ahmadinejad's bogus claim that Iran is enriching uranium as fuel for power stations. Iran has no nuclear power plants and thus has no need of enriched uranium. The only nuclear plant under construction is to be completed by Russians at an unspecified date. But the uranium enriched by Iran at Natanz isn't suitable for that plant, which needs a specific type of fuel - the specifications for which Moscow has refused to give to Tehran. Because nuclear fuel has a lifespan of three to four years, the Natanz uranium can't be intended for any of the 22 nuclear power plants that Ahmadinejad says he wants to build in Iran over the next 25 years. If told that the centrifuges are working to train Iranian scientists, Baradei should know that, at the level of scientific research, Iran already could enrich uranium in 1978. The centrifuges working at Natanz can only be producing ingredients for nuclear warheads. Baradei should tell that truth to the Iranian people and the world at large.
 
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WarNerd       11/15/2007 3:22:00 AM
While I agree with the general thrust of the article, the following statement is flat wrong:

Because nuclear fuel has a lifespan of three to four years, the Natanz uranium can't be intended for any of the 22 nuclear power plants that Ahmadinejad says he wants to build in Iran over the next 25 years. If told that the centrifuges are working to train Iranian scientists, Baradei should know that, at the level of scientific research, Iran already could enrich uranium in 1978.

 
I don't know where he got this information, but the shelf life of uranium reactor fuel (<3% enrichment) is at least several decades.  U-235 has a half life of 7.038×108 y.
 
For weapon grade uranium (>90% enrichment) on the other hand this might be correct.
 
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reefdiver       11/15/2007 11:37:32 AM

While I agree with the general thrust of the article, the following statement is flat wrong:


Because nuclear fuel has a lifespan of three to four years, the Natanz uranium can't be intended for any of the 22 nuclear power plants that Ahmadinejad says he wants to build in Iran over the next 25 years. If told that the centrifuges are working to train Iranian scientists, Baradei should know that, at the level of scientific research, Iran already could enrich uranium in 1978.


 

I don't know where he got this information, but the shelf life of uranium reactor fuel (<3% enrichment) is at least several decades.  U-235 has a half life of 7.038×108 y.

 

For weapon grade uranium (>90% enrichment) on the other hand this might be correct.



 I wonder if the Post mistakenly used the lifespan of fuel once its in the reactor?  At around 18 months, its closer to that number.
 
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