A Complementary Approach for Combating Global Nuclear Proliferation (2012)

Undergraduate: Erin Sanderson

Faculty Advisor: David McNelis
Department: Peace, War & Defense

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The potential proliferation of nuclear weapons has plagued international security for decades. International organizations hesitate to ban nuclear use, as nuclear power is cost effective and clean. However the by-products of uranium enrichment and reprocessing are also essential for nuclear weapons production. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was one of the first attempts to reconcile the peaceful applications of nuclear energy with the goal of nuclear weapons disarmament. The treaty has been largely successful with preventing weapons proliferation, but the verification and enforcement aspects are unequally imposed.
The focus of this paper is to examine two emerging and potentially complementary solutions to nuclear non-proliferation: a multinational fuel bank and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Both approaches have several different proposed designs. This paper will outline selected proposals while focusing on the aspects of each that serve to increase proliferation resistance. A multilateral fuel bank could provide international guarantee for bilateral fuel arrangements, provide access to enriched fuel, and provide options for spent fuel management. While SMRs have the capability to run for multiple decades without refueling, underground storage, and complete fuel burn up. These two new approaches and technologies could form a complementary approach to inhibit further nuclear weapons proliferation.