Iran
Fuel Fabrication Laboratory (FFL)
About
In 1985 Iran commissioned a Fuel Fabrication Laboratory (FFL) in cooperation with a French company, but did not declare the facility to the IAEA until 1993. 1 Between 1985 and 1993 Iran carried out undeclared fuel fabrication research at the laboratory and produced some fuel pellets using imported UF6. 2 Iran later irradiated these pellets at the Tehran Research Reactor and used them for plutonium separation experiments. 3 The IAEA reported in 2004 that the plant has a limited fuel pellet production capability. 4
In August 2021, the IAEA reported that Iran had produced 200 grams of uranium metal enriched up to 20% at the plant.5
Glossary
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- IAEA: Founded in 1957 and based in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is an autonomous international organization in the United Nations system. The Agency’s mandate is the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, technical assistance in this area, and verification that nuclear materials and technology stay in peaceful use. Article III of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) requires non-nuclear weapon states party to the NPT to accept safeguards administered by the IAEA. The IAEA consists of three principal organs: the General Conference (of member states); the Board of Governors; and the Secretariat. For additional information, see the IAEA.
- Plutonium (Pu)
- Plutonium (Pu): A transuranic element with atomic number 94, produced when uranium is irradiated in a reactor. It is used primarily in nuclear weapons and, along with uranium, in mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. Plutonium-239, a fissile isotope, is the most suitable isotope for use in nuclear weapons.
- Uranium
- Uranium is a metal with the atomic number 92. See entries for enriched uranium, low enriched uranium, and highly enriched uranium.
- Enriched uranium
- Enriched uranium: Uranium with an increased concentration of the isotope U-235, relative to natural uranium. Natural uranium contains 0.7 percent U-235, whereas nuclear weapons typically require uranium enriched to very high levels (see the definitions for “highly enriched uranium” and “weapons-grade”). Nuclear power plant fuel typically uses uranium enriched to 3 to 5 percent U-235, material that is not sufficiently enriched to be used for nuclear weapons.
Sources
- “Nuclear Sites, Esfahan,” Institute for Science and International Security, www.isisnucleariran.org.
- “Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 10 November 2003, www.iaea.org.
- “Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 2 September 2005, www.iaea.org.
- “Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 15 November 2004, www.iaea.org.
- David Rising, “UN nuclear watchdog: Iran producing more uranium metal,” AP News, 17 August 2021, www.apnews.com.