August 26, 2004 If terrorists or a rogue nation wanted to get
their hands on some bomb-grade uranium-235, one source would be
the research reactor at the University of Wisconsin or five
other universities (Oregon State, Washington State, Purdue,
Texas A&M and the University of Florida) operating small
reactors running on weapons-grade uranium. Fuel for the reactors
was originally supplied by the federal government, and the
universities have been waiting for over twenty years for a
program to trade in their highly enriched uranium for a lower
grade similar to that used in commercial reactors. The fuel was
initially supplied to small reactors around the world under the
"Atoms for Peace" program, but in 1978, the Department of Energy
realized that the material presented a proliferation hazard and
started a quiet campaign to reclaim it. According to a July 2004
GAO report, only 39 of the 105 worldwide research reactors had
been converted or were in the process of converting to less
lethal grades of uranium. Conve