NPT Nuclear-Weapon States Hold 1,568 Tonnes of Plutonium, HEU: Report

The five nations recognized as nuclear-weapon states by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty held roughly 238 metric tons of plutonium and 1,330 metric tons of highly enriched uranium at the end of 2014, according to a research report issued on Tuesday.

The material would be sufficient to power about 80,000 nuclear weapons, based on the assumption that each weapon would hold 25 kilograms of HEU or 8 kilograms of plutonium, the Institute for Science and International Security said in its report. The five nations – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – are believed today to in total possess roughly 15,000 such armaments, the Federation of American Scientists has said.This amount does not cover weapon-usable material held by known or suspected nuclear-armed nations India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan.

A large portion of the five NPT nations’ plutonium and HEU holdings are applied to weapons programs, including the weapons themselves, reserves, and associated uses, the report says. But determining specific amounts dedicated to arms is a challenge.