Pakistan is building a reactor that could produce enough plutonium for 40 to 50 nuclear weapons, the Washington Postreported today.
Satellite photos show what appears to be the construction site for a larger nuclear reactor adjacent to Pakistan's only plutonium production reactor, according to an analysis by nuclear experts at the Washington-based Institute for Science, the newspaper said.
The analysts concluded that the diameter of the structure's metal shell suggests a very large reactor "operating in excess of 1,000 megawatts thermal," the Postsaid.
"Such a reactor could produce over 200 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium per year, assuming it operates at full power a modest 220 days per year," the newspaper said, quoting the technical assessment. "At four to five kilograms of plutonium per weapon, this stock would allow the production of over 40 to 50 nuclear weapons a year."
Pakistan is currently capable of producing about 10 kilograms of plutonium a year, enough for about two warheads, the Postsaid.
Construction of the new reactor apparently began sometime in 2000. In April 2006, the roof of the structure was still incomplete, allowing a unobstructed view of the reactor's features, the newspaper reported.
A senior Pakistani official acknowledged that a nuclear expansion was under way, the Post reported.