3. Enrichment and proliferation

All enrichment processes have features that could make them suitable for military applications. The greatest proliferation risk is associated with a process that is economical, compact and simple to develop. However, none of the existing processes meets these three criteria.

The various aspects of proliferation are linked:

• the nature of the process: start-up time and inventory. A process with slow dynamics has a large uranium inventory and is not prolific;

• implementation of the process by hijacking the installation. A plant designed for commercial enrichment can be hijacked for military enrichment:

  • or by sequential operation with creation of intermediate stocks,

  • or by reshaping the cascade by modifying the links between...