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Joint U.S.-Russian Operation Recovers HEU From Bulgarian Research Reactor
A joint U.S.-Russian operation last week recovered a stockpile of highly enriched uranium from a Soviet-era research reactor facility in Bulgaria, according to the U.S. Energy Department (see GSN, Nov. 24). On Dec. 23, 17 kilograms of Russian-origin HEU was returned to Russia from a research reactor facility in Sofia during an operation monitored by U.S. and International Atomic Energy Agency experts, according to an Energy Department press release. The HEU was taken to Dmitrovgrad, Russia, where it will be blended down to a lower enrichment level for use as fuel in civilian nuclear power plants, the Energy release said. In addition to returning the HEU to Russia, Bulgaria has also agreed to convert the research reactor, which was shut down in 1989, to use low-enriched uranium fuel, according to U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration chief Linton Brooks. “The Bulgarians have shown leadership as they have cooperated with the U.S., Russia and the IAEA in seeking ways to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation,” Brooks said (U.S. Energy Department release, Dec. 24).
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