Gaseous diffusion was historically the most widely used technology for military production of highly enriched uranium. Since June 2013, all gaseous diffusion enrichment plants worldwide are permanently shut down. The experience with decommissioning some of these plants has shown that they contain large amounts of uranium particles deposited in the cascade equipment. This project evaluated the potential of using uranium particle deposition models to understand and reconstruct the operating histories of gaseous diffusion enrichment plants. Through such “nuclear archaeology," this project provides a basis for the feasibility of verifying declarations by states of their past production of enriched uranium for weapons and civilian uses.
Selected publication:
S. Philippe and A. Glaser, Nuclear Archaeology for Gaseous Diffusion Enrichment Plants, Science & Global Security, Vol. 22, Iss. 1, 2014, pp 27-49.