10% of US electricity comes from decommissioned Russian nuclear bombs converted from HEU to LEU as part of the Megaton to Megawatt Program. The program costs $20 billion and has converted 862,000 pounds of HEU into 25 million pounds of LEU, equivalent to destroying 15,633 nuclear weapons.
10% of the electricity used in the United States comes from decommissioned Russian nuclear bombs. Electricity is converted from high enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) and used as nuclear fuel. The process is part of the “Megaton to Megawatt Program,” which began in 1995 with an agreement between the United States and Russia to act as executors of the programs.
Other Megaton-Megawatt Facts:
The 20-year “Megaton to Megawatt Program” will cost an estimated $20 billion US Dollars (USD), all commercially financed at no cost to taxpayers.
Between 1995 and 2010, approximately 862,000 pounds (391,000 kilograms) of HEU were converted into nearly 25 million pounds (just over 11 million kilograms) of LEU. This is the equivalent of destroying 15,633 nuclear weapons.
On average, one in 10 properties in the United States, including homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, gets electricity generated by the “Megaton to Megawatt Program.”
The 20-year deal, which runs until 2013, will destroy 2013 million pounds (1.1 kilograms) of HEU, the equivalent of 500,000 nuclear warheads.
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