UW reactor to ditch highly enriched uranium

11:22 AM CST, February 9, 2009
MADISON, Wis. - A nuclear reactor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will be converted to run on less dangerous fuel under a national safety initiative.

UW-Madison says the reactor's fuel will be converted from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium this year or early next year. The school says leftover fuel will be stored at a lab in Idaho.

The changeover is part of the Department of Energy's Global Threat Reduction Initiative, which aims to secure high-risk nuclear and radiological materials worldwide.

Nuclear reactors at two other universities switched over last year, and UW-Madison's will be the third and final one to do so under the program.
UW-Madison says its reactor is used to train students and for research.