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Washington, Moscow Come to Liability Agreement for U.S.-Backed Nuclear Projects in Russia By David Francis WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia are nearing an agreement on liability that would permit U.S. support for disposing of Russian weapon-grade plutonium, officials said yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 8). However, the officials said no final agreement has been reached on funding the project to build a Russian plant to convert plutonium from weapons into nuclear power-plant fuel by blending it with uranium. In 2000, Russia and the United States agreed to dispose of 34 tons of plutonium each by producing the mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel. A dispute over liability issues has stalled progress on the plan as the United States has been pushing for broad liability protections for U.S. contractors conducting nuclear-security work at Russian sites, but U.S. and Russian officials said yesterday that the liability problem has nearly been solved. “As far as liability, I was informed that at least maybe before the end of this year, maybe January” an agreement would be finalized, said Russian State Duma Deputy Valentin Ivanov, speaking here at the Carnegie International Nonproliferation Conference. “It will be solved by both sides.” “There is an agreed document. That document is being reviewed,” agreed James Timbie, senior adviser to Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. “The current obstacle of progress is no longer liability.” Timbie could not offer a specific time at which the liability agreement might be in place. Still, the issue of funding for the Russian facility remains, Ivanov said. Russia has only $800 million to pay for the plant, which is expected to cost $2.5 billion. The rest must come from the international community, he said. “It isn’t possible to start any attempt, from my point of view,” Ivanov said. “We won’t have money to pay for the extra price.” Timbie, in an interview with Global Security Newswire, said countries planning to support the plant are discussing how much money each would give. So far, France, Germany and the United States have pledged financial assistance. “It’s a mismatch between how much money has been raised and how much people think it’s going to cost,” Timbie said. “The big next step is to try to refine what those costs are and to try to match the contributions.” The liability agreement “certainly removes the first barrier,” said Anthony Wier, a research associate at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. “That’s not to say there’s not another barrier — the funding barrier — right behind it.” “Countries are prepared to move forward” with contributions, Timbie said. “But still more needs to be agreed on. Negotiations are ongoing.” Funding efforts were also drawn out as the United States and Russia sought to conclude the liability agreement. Two U.S. senators said in July that an agreement was imminent, but critics said the senators were trying to increase funding for the U.S. MOX plant at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina (see GSN, July 21). The United States last month broke ground at the Savannah site, although it is unclear how the $1.6 billion facility will be funded. The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration has already committed $600 million to the plant. Earlier this week, U.S. lawmakers agreed to set aside $220 million for construction of the plant. The Energy Department funding bill, finalized by a House-Senate conference, mandates that MOX processing begin by 2012. If processing is not completed by 2020, the Energy Department must remove remaining plutonium from South Carolina (see GSN, Oct. 17).
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