There’s ABSOLUTELY no reason to get all panicky here. The only benefit gained from more centrifuges is that more fuel can be produced. What DOES matter is the level of enrichment: low-enriched uranium (LEU) enriched to 3 to 5 % (for power plants) or highly enriched uranium
(HEU) enriched to 90% or more (for weapons).
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection teams have already been to Iran several times, and every time they have reported that there is NO evidence of Iran producing weapons-grade HEU fuel. In other words, all that Iran is doing is producing the LEU enriched fuel (enriched to 3 to 5%) it needs for its power plant. Now that it has more centrifuges, it can produce a little more LEU fuel faster.
To put things in perspective — it would take 40,000 to 50,000 centrifuges to produce the nuclear fuel needed for ONE plant for ONE year. The article also is only an announcement that Iran "possesses"
To put things in perspective — it would take 40,000 to 50,000 centrifuges to produce the nuclear fuel needed for ONE plant for ONE year.
The article also is only an announcement that Iran "possesses" the centrifuges.
They also have to be installed and start working. Note that the US has 104 nuclear power plants — Iran is still constructing ONE.
It MIGHT open in late 2008.
the centrifuges. They also have to be installed and start working. Note that the US has 104 nuclear power plants — Iran is still constructing ONE. It MIGHT open in late 2008.
... in 1995 Russia and Iran signed a contract for a nuclear power plant with an electrical output of 1,000 megawatts (MWe) to be completed in 1999, but there have been over 8 years of delays and IT’S STILL NOT FINISHED.
That Iran does want to produce their own nuclear fuel is clear because they have uranium mining facilities and the ability to turn the mined uranium into a powdered form, a facility to convert the powdered uranium into a gaseous form for enrichment, and then they have the Natanz plant for uranium enrichment which, when completed, is supposed to produce the fresh fuel (about 25 metric tons, 25,000 kg, of LEU) required each year by Bushehr. However, it seems that at this time the Natanz plant has nowhere near enough equipment (e.g. centrifuges) to do this. Bushehr’s reactor will also need about 75 tons of LEU in its core to start working. When it does, it will produce heat that will become steam to drive steam turbines and electric generators."
In other words, they’ll finally be able to produce electricity.
By the way, there is also NO evidence that Iran has diverted any LEU to be used for processing into HEU.
As I see it, all of this silly UPROAR is being "manufactured" in order to stop Iran from becoming a model to other countries. If Iran can be stopped, then the US and the other main nuclear fuel producing countries can keep their control over the valuable nuclear fuel market — the same way they try to control other markets.
Marie K.
Yes and wholeheartedly agreed — it's all manufactured uproar, might as well be stamped "Made at 1600 Pennsylvania Street".
Near as I can ascertain, all the Bush-Cheney rhetoric on Iran, reflected and magnified without question in the mass media, is bullsh*t. Has no relation to reality, except the 'reality' of propagandizing America and the world in preparation for the coming war. I felt exactly the same about the bullsh*t blitzkrieg before the Iraq attack, except back then having the media 100% on board with the Bush-Cheney line made me doubt my own reading of the situation. This time around, I'm feeling more confident in my own belief that we're being buffaloed, and much more saddened at my certainty the all the forces of evil are again aligned.
