Russia restarts plutonium production reactor

When Russia shut down its last plutonium production reactor, ADE-2 in Zheleznogorsk, in May 2009, it did so with the understanding that the reactor would be restarted in the fall if the replacement heat plant is not ready by then. Now that the heating season is about to start, the replacement plant is still not operational.  According to a Nuclear.ru report, Rosatom made a decision to restart the reactor on September 20, 2009. It will operate it during the entire 2009-2010 heating season. The report says that the reactor is certified to work until 2011, even though a U.S.-Russian agreement calls for complete shutdown of the reactor in 2010.