The Nation : Energy Chief Sees No Tritium Shortage

Despite fresh obstacles to restarting nuclear weapons reactors at the government’s Savannah River Plant in South Carolina, the United States does not face a shortage of perishable tritium gas that could imperil the nation’s nuclear force, Energy Secretary John S. Herrington said. Herrington said that he foresees no need to “cannibalize” tritium from some weapons to keep others in working order, as some officials have suggested might be necessary. In an appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, the energy secretary said that this is an emergency option that should be carefully studied in the event that a tritium shortage develops. “But I am confident at this point that there will not be a problem,” Herrington said. “I honestly do not . . . anticipate the need to cannibalize existing weapons.”