Iran inaugurates new Arak heavy water facility capable of producing plutonium

From Gertz.....

Iran has inaugurated a heavy water facility that can produce plutonium directly from uranium.

The plant, which took eight years to complete, is located at Khondab, 190 kilometers southwest of Teheran. The plant, also known as Arak, would yield a plutonium by-product, used in nuclear warheads.

"This is one of the biggest nuclear projects in Iran," Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Deputy Director Mohammed Saeedi said.

Officials said Arak, inaugurated on Aug. 26, would produce 16 tons of heavy water with a purity of 15 percent per year. They said the facility, deemed operational, would manufacture 80 tons of heavy water with a purity of nearly 100 percent.

Heavy water, or deuterium oxide, is 10 percent heavier than normal water and is used to lower the energy of neutrons in a reactor. Industry experts said heavy water, which enables a sustained chain-reaction in uranium-fueled reactors, could produce plutonium directly from natural uranium. This would allow any country to avoid the need for uranium enrichment.

Heavy water, or deuterium oxide, is 10 percent heavier than normal water and is used to lower the energy of neutrons in a reactor. Industry experts said heavy water, which enables a sustained chain-reaction in uranium-fueled reactors, could produce plutonium directly from natural uranium. This would allow any country to avoid the need for uranium enrichment.

Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Agazadeh, who also heads the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, asserted that Arak would be a civilian facility.

Agazadeh said the heavy water plant would facilitate the treatment of AIDS and cancer patients.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the Arak plant. Ahmadinejad said Iran would not stop developing its nuclear capability.

"No one can deprive a nation of its rights based on its capabilities," Ahmadinejad said. "Iran is not a threat to anybody, not even to the Zionist regime."

(okay nothing to worry about)

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