What a pointless point. As if any anti west outfit would divulge to us what they're really up to ? How old are those who believe that crap ? ten, twelve ?

Dave Kimble parts the curtain of excrement.... and the whiff of fresh air is almost excruciating.

That's tough on those who like their propaganda served up hot.

stevenlmeyer
> "The idea that Iran would go to all this effort to produce medical isotopes that can be bought much more cheaply on world markets is a bit far fetched - and that's putting it kindly."

The research reactor was originally supplied by the US and went operational in 1967. It used highly enriched uranium. After the 1979 revolution the US cut off supplies of nuclear fuel. In 1988 Iran signed an agreement with Argentina to modify the reactor and supply 19.5% enriched uranium fuel rods for the reactor. This was completed in 1993.

Since then everyone has refused to supply any more fuel rods to Iran, so your assertion that they can just buy it is wrong.

In 2010 Turkey and Brazil brokered an agreement whereby Iran would give low enriched uranium and receive 19.5% enriched uranium, to obviate the need for Iran itself to enrich to 19.5%. The US refused this proposal, so the Iranians went ahead and did the enrichment themselves.

It is quite possible that the upcoming talks with the P5+1 will see the proposal be put again, and the P5+1 would be well-advised to accept it this time.

While the same enrichment technology can be used to enrich to the 90% level needed for bomb-making, in practice the associated plumbing would need to be changed. And with on-going IAEA inspections and cameras monitoring the whole time, this would be impossible. It would also take a long time to produce the required amount - measured in years. So as long as Iran remains within the IAEA, there is no danger at all of them producing a bomb, and if they were to leave IAEA, that would invite immediate attack.

Palloy wrote:

>>your assertion that they can just buy it [medical isotopes] is wrong.>>

Medical isotopes, as opposed to fuel rods for a reactor, are available. The Iranians could indeed just buy them. In fact if they canned their nuclear program they could afford them by the truckload.

I repeat, the notion that the Iranians would go to such enormous expense simply to manufacture in a reactor the medical isotopes they could buy much more cheaply on world markets is preposterous. I don't see how any sane person could believe such a fairy tale.

Incidentally making medical isotopes in a reactor may well be an obsolete technology.

See:

New finding may solve isotopes shortage

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/20/new-finding-may-solve-isotopes-shortage/

Why then does Australia run a reactor at Lucas Heights to produce medical isotopes ? Answer: because medical isotopes have a very short half-life (measured in hours or days) and therefore high radioactivity per unit of mass, to minimise the poisonous dose of these materials. They therefore lose their radioactive potency very quickly and can't be transported internationally. There is no "world market" in medical isotopes.

And why does Australia do research into uranium enrichment ? To be able to make a nuclear bomb if it has to - the very thing the Iranians are accused of. And what would Australia say if we were accused of "keeping ourselves in a position to make that decision" ? You can't prove to anyone's satisfaction that you won't do something in the future.

Palloy

The ostensible reason the Howard government gave for building a new reactor at Lucas Heights was to provide medical isotopes.

No one who understood the real position believed Howard. I certainly did not.

So why did the Howard government build a new reactor at Lucas Heights?

Obviously John Howard did not confide in me and I cannot read minds.

However had I been John Howard I would have done the same thing and I would probably have given the same (phoney) reason.

And here's why.

Australia is a small country in what looks likely to become a tough neighbourhood. Just to the north of us is Indonesia, a Muslim country with a rapidly growing economy and ten times our population. In fact in terms of purchasing power parity the Indonesian economy has already overtaken us though in per capita terms it is much smaller.

Nonetheless size matters and in coming decades it is increasingly going to be Indonesia, NOT Australia, that calls the shots in our region.

Under these circumstances I would want an ace in the hole, an equaliser. Just in case.

The equaliser is, of course nukes. What I would want is to be in a position where my lead time for developing nuclear weapons was no more than a single decade.

How do I do this? How do I put myself in this position?

I need to keep in being a corps of scientists and engineers who understand nuclear technology. Part of doing that is to give them a reactor to play with.

If, as a by product, I can get medical isotopes well and good.

But I no more believed Howard's official line that I believe Ahmadinejad's or Khameini's on this issue. What is more I don’t know anyone familiar with the position regarding medical isotopes who does.

Of course if Iran were to put its test reactor under international control it would be able to get fuel rods and it could probably sell the isotopes at a profit.

But that would negate the whole purpose of having the reactor.