Global Security Newswire
Daily News on Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Weapons, Terrorism and Related Issues
Tennessee Facility Begins Converting Weapon-Grade Uranium for Nuclear Power Reactors
Nuclear Fuel Services of Tennessee has begun downblending 33 metric tons of weapon-grade uranium into commercial reactor fuel for electricity production by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 13).
The material will come from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
“The first shipments have already left the facility,” Tony Treadway, spokesman for the NFS plant in Erwin, about 120 miles north of Knoxville, said yesterday.
Nuclear Fuel Services received a final license amendment to begin the process, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday. The regulatory process resulting in the decision began in 2002, according to AP, and no public hearings were held.
The Sierra Club, the Tennessee Environmental Council, the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and other environmental groups who oppose the project plan to file an appeal tomorrow demanding a full environmental impact statement, AP reported (Associated Press/Washington Post, Oct. 13).
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NTI Analysis
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Civilian HEU Reduction and Elimination Resource Collection
March 25, 2013
This collection examines civilian HEU reduction and elimination efforts. It discusses why the continued widespread use, internationally, of HEU in the civilian sector poses global security risks, provides an overview of progress to-date in reducing and eliminating the use of HEU in the civilian sector worldwide, and examines remaining challenges to achieving this goal. The collection also includes detailed analysis of progress in eight key countries.
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Civilian HEU: France
March 20, 2013
The article is part of a collection examining civilian HEU reduction and elimination efforts. It details current French HEU policies, progress reducing and eliminating the civil use of HEU in France, and remaining challenges.
Country Profile
United States
This article provides an overview of the United States’ historical and current policies relating to nuclear, chemical, biological and missile proliferation.
