10 percent of the electricity used in the United States comes from dismantled Russian nuclear bombs. The electricity is converted from high-enriched uranium (HEU) into low-enriched-uranium (LEU) and used as nuclear fuel. The process is part the "Megatons to Megawatts Program," which began in 1995 with an agreement between the US and Russia to act as the programs executors.
More Megaton-Megawatt Facts:
- The 20-year "Megatons to Megawatts Program" will cost about $8 billion US Dollars (USD) — all commercially-financed with no cost to taxpayers.
- Between 1995 and 2010, about 862,000 pounds (391,000 kilograms) of HEU had been converted to almost 25 million pounds (a little more than 11 million kilograms) of LEU. This is the equivalent of destroying 15,633 nuclear weapons.
- On average, one in 10 properties in the US, including homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, get electricity generated from the "Megatons to Megawatts Program."
- The 20-year agreement, which runs through 2013, will destroy 1.1 million pounds (500,000 kilograms) of HEU — the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads.