59" Plutonirrtr-23g is normally produced in a nuclear reactor. A. production line for plutonium requires the capabir-ity to refine "r."irrl-irr.- t"l'"i"Iii." .,reactor fuel , a nucrear reactor and a chenica-r pl"ant for plutonium extraction fron the spent f.ue1 elernents (rep"o"es"irrgj. -- - 50. lt is easier to construct and operate a .ledicated plutonium productionreactor than an electrical power producing reactor" rnvestme_nt costs for thesimplest type of graphite moderated reactJr giving enough plutoniurn_21! for oneor-two weapons annually (fO tg..plutoniurn) are estinated to be in the range ofS13 to a6 nittion (19?6 dolt;s)" rtre ""pi;;i cost or a reprocessing plant toextract plutonium from the irradiated fuel- would amount to an additionalA/35 /392 English Page 2h $:5 r:iltior (t975 ooLtars). Personnef requiremenls for construction and orcration are modest anci p1-utoniurn could be produced 4 years after the start of the construction. In order to obtain plutoniu.m for 10 to 20 weapons per year with a safe and retiable reactor j.nvestment costs vould range from f250 to 500urillion and require sorne 50 16 Jl engineers and 150 Lo 200 skilled tcchnicians. The time span until the firs[ output of plutoniutr lrould be 5 to 7 vears. 6f. Accord.ing to some estimates - the tota"l amount world1{ide of veapon -8rade uranium produced since the Second Ilorld VIar range betveen 1,000 and 2-000 tons" Sinilarly, the total qrrant ity of weapon-grade pLutoniurn produced worldwide amount s to 100-200 tons. 62. A probl em of groving concern has been the possibility. of using plutonium produced in crdinary nuclear-.porn'er reactors as the explosive material in atornic bombs. The core of the matter is the presence of other plutoniurn isotopes, larticularly p}.rtoniurn-240, which increase in abundance vith the time of exposure in the reactor. rrhile it is clear that so-called reactor-grade plutonium- i.e. vith a concentration of llutoniun.2lr0 higher than" say, 10 per cent, night be used to producc a nucfear explosive, it is also clear ths.t such an explosive is
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the production and use of plutonium, a radioactive metal, in nuclear reactors and its potential use in atomic bombs. The text provides information on the costs, personnel requirements, and timeline for constructing a dedicated plutonium production reactor, as well as the risks and challenges associated with using reactor-grade plutonium in nuclear explosives. The text does not seem to be related to economic development, natural resources, agriculture, forestry, fishing, transport, communication, international trade, health, education, employment, humanitarian aid, or culture.

**Category**
Science and Technology