Track I: Power GenerationIncludes audio file (31 min.)As the demand for nuclear energy increases worldwide, and MO reactors come online, so does
the availability of spent fuel that may be used as a medium of terror. That is, fuel for and waste
or byproducts from fissile material refining and nuclear reactors (e.g. plutonium) pose a serious
threat with respect to radiological dispersal and nuclear bomb detonation. Radiological dispersal
can include fallout by means of water or atmospheric transport (e.g., dumping waste in a river)
while fissile trafficking can include the transport of plutonium across a border by seaport entry.
In order to safely increase the use of nuclear energy in Missouri, sensitive techniques for nuclear
detection must be developed. Presently available commercial detectors are not sensitive enough
to detect even large (~3kg) quantities of weapons grade plutonium that are hidden in a barrel of
water; our borders are effectively open to critical mass sized plutonium transport. Profs. Caruso,
Ching and Kruger (UMKC Physics) are developing detectors capable of a ten times increase in
detection sensitivity over existing commercial detectors that will provide a critical component to
the future Missouri nuclear safeguarding infrastructure
