U.S. Offers Reactor Fuel as Nonproliferation Measure

The United States has pledged to donate 10 reactor cores worth of nuclear fuel to countries that agree not to develop uranium enrichment or plutonium reprocessing programs in an effort to prevent such materials from being used for nuclear weapons, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, March 22).

“We are working with major suppliers and the [International Atomic Energy Agency] on a backup supply mechanism for states that forgo investment in indigenous enrichment or (plutonium) reprocessing capability,” U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a statement yesterday to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

“The United States Department of Energy will reserve up to 17 metric tons of highly enriched uranium for an IAEA verifiable assured fuel supply arrangement,” he said.

The offer is envisioned as a first phase in developing a “neutral bank” of reactor fuel, said one senior U.S. Energy Department official.

“The United States felt it was important to show leadership and begin the process of converting some of the discussions ... into actual implementation,” the official said.

Washington estimates the fuel donation would be available by 2009, Reuters reported (Francois Murphy, Reuters, Sept. 26).

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