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Almost 600 Pounds of Highly Enriched Uranium Returned to Russia from
Germany
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| Abstract Number: |
20060250 |
| Headline: |
Nearly 600 Pounds of Highly Enriched Uranium Returned to Russia from Germany |
| Date: |
18 December 2006 |
| Bibliography:
|
International Atomic Energy Agency;
http://www.iaea.org |
| Author: |
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| Orig. Src.:
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Staff Report, 18 December 2006 |
| Case:
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| Material:
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Highly Enriched Uranium, Low-Enriched Uranium |
Abstract:
On 18 December 2006,
268 kg (over 590 pounds) of fresh highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel
and 58 kilograms of fresh low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel were taken from a
former East German civilian nuclear facility at Rossendorf and safely
transported to Russia.[1,2] The
returned HEU fuel was supplied by the Soviet Union to the former German Democratic
Republic in the 1960s and 1970s. With the reunification of Germany in 1989, the
German federal government decided to shut down the two Soviet-design research reactors
at Rossendorf, which were decommissioned in 1991 and 2005. Since that time the
fresh fuel was kept under strict security measures at the site.[1]
The five-day operation was carried out through a cooperative effort
involving Germany, Russia, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) within the framework of the
Global Threat Reduction
Initiative (GTRI), which is aimed at identifying, securing, recovering and/or
facilitating the disposition of vulnerable nuclear materials around the globe. The HEU was loaded into 18 TK-S16 specialized
Russian transportation containers at
Rossendorf with the assistance of NNSA technical experts; IAEA safeguards
inspectors monitored the fuel loading process. The canisters were transported
under heavy guard and then airlifted from Dresden Airport to Russia, where it will be downblended from HEU to LEU for further civilian use
at the
Luch facility at Podolsk, near Moscow. Germany provided the funds for the
operation.[1,2]
According to Arnaud Atger, the project manager at the IAEA, the 18 December
2006 batch of HEU from Rossendorf not only represents the first such shipment
from Germany to Russia, but also brings the total amount of fresh HEU
repatriated to Russia to a record amount of 433 kg.[1] According to the NNSA,
the shipment of 268 kg (over 590 pounds) of HEU
is the largest shipment of Soviet-origin HEU conducted under the
GTRI since its
inception two-and-a-half years ago.[1,2]
To date, 15 shipments totaling approximately 496 kg (1,092 pounds) of HEU
fresh and spent fuel have been repatriated to Russia from Serbia, Bulgaria,
Romania, Libya, Uzbekistan, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Poland, and the former
East Germany.[2]
Sources:
[1] "Largest Batch of HEU Returned from Germany to Russia: IAEA, Germany,
Russia, USA Join to 'Take Back' Sensitive Nuclear Material," Staff Report,
International Atomic Energy Agency website,
http://www.iaea.org, 18 December 2006.
[2] "Almost 600 Pounds of Highly Enriched Uranium Returned to Russia: Largest
shipment of highly enriched uranium ever under NNSA's Global Threat Reduction
Initiative," Press Release, National Nuclear Security Administration website,
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/, 18 December
2006.{Entered 1/8/06 SG}
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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