This paper notes renewed enthusiasm in western countries for new nuclear power plant construction. Various energy and security challenges, however, remain contentious. One matter for which there is a wide variation of international practice concerns the management of separated plutonium arising from nuclear fuel reprocessing. This paper introduces a special issue of the journal Progress in Nuclear Energy dedicated to reporting on a conference held in Cambridge, England in July 2005. The workshop was tasked with considering long-term management options for separated civil plutonium. The authors express no opinion as to whether such plutonium is best regarded as a waste or an asset. Rather it is simply suggested that management practice may be improved via an open discussion of options originating from a wide range of contexts and perspectives. This paper introduces some of the relevant issues, which are considered in greater depth by the papers that follow in this special issue. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
