When it comes to spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, the choice facing the United States is between denial and restraint, argued James Acton before the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. The real success of the American policy of restraint, first implemented at the end of the Ford administration, has been that it avoided encouraging new states from embarking on civilian reprocessing programs. An American decision to support reprocessing could have the unintended consequence of enhancing proliferation risks.
testimony
Evidence to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future
Nuclear proliferation is a political problem and the key to assessing proliferation risks is political judgment.
Published on October 12, 2010
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