Nuclear Policy
Statement by the President (click here)
October 28, 1976
We have known since the age of nuclear energy began more than 30 years ago that this source of energy had the potential for tremendous benefits for mankind and the potential for unparalleled destruction.
On the one hand, there is no doubt that nuclear energy represents one of the best hopes for satisfying the rising world demand for energy with minimum environmental impact and with the potential for reducing dependence on uncertain and diminishing world supplies of oil.
On the other hand, nuclear fuel, as it produces power also produces plutonium, which can be chemically separated from the spent fuel. The plutonium can be recycled and used to generate additional nuclear power, thereby partially offsetting the need for additional energy resources. Unfortunately-and this is the root of the problem-the same plutonium produced in nuclear powerplants can, when chemically separated, also be used to make nuclear explosives.
The world community cannot afford to let potential nuclear weapons material or the technology to produce it proliferate uncontrolled over the globe....
