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Abstract Number:	20060180
Headline:	DOE Announces Successful Removal of Nuclear Material from Poland
Date:	10 August 2006
Bibliography:	United States Department of Energy press release, http://www.energy.gov
Author:
Orig. Src.:
Case:
Material:	Highly-enriched uranium

Abstract:

Forty kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) were successfully returned to Russia from Poland in a mission completed on 10 August 2006, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Energy. The operation was carried out by the United States, Poland, the Russian Federation, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), within the framework of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI). GTRI seeks to identify, secure, recover, and/or facilitate the disposition of vulnerable nuclear materials around the world.

According to the press release, the loading and removal of the fresh HEU fuel from the Maria research reactor at the Institute of Atomic Energy in Otwock-Swierk, Poland, was monitored by IAEA inspectors and U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) experts. The HEU was repatriated to a secure facility in Dimitrovgrad, Russia, where it will be downblended into low enriched uranium (LEU).[1]

The August 2006 operation was the largest removal of Soviet-origin nuclear material since the beginning of GTRI. Over the past two years, HEU has been repatriated from Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Libya, Uzbekistan, Latvia and the Czech Republic in other operations conducted under the program.[2,3]

[1] "Sensitive Nuclear Material Removed from Poland", IAEA Staff Report, 10 August 2006, IAEA website, http://www.iaea.org.
[2] Bryan Bender, "US recovers uranium from Polish reactor. Secret effort nets nearly 100 ponds", 10 August 2006, The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com.
[3] Global Threat Reduction Initiative, Fact Sheet; IAEA website, http://www.iaea.org. {Entered 10/06/06 RN}

The Center for Nonproliferation Studies has not verified the accuracy or veracity of this report or the facts presented therein.  For more information on the material in this database please contact Dr. Scott Parrish at sparrish@miis.edu.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2003 by MIIS.

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