Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
9/26/2014
Despite tensions between the U.S. and Russia, 53 kilograms of highly enriched uranium were returned from Poland to an undisclosed facility in Russia last week in a joint operation coordinated by the National Nuclear Security Administration, and work remains on track to complete the HEU cleanout of Poland by 2016, the NNSA said this week. The 53 kilograms represented the 10th shipment of Polish HEU that was returned to Russia since 2006. The material was taken from the Maria Reactor near Warsaw in an operation involving eight Russian organizations, four Polish organizations, the NNSA’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative and Idaho National Laboratory. The Maria reactor was converted from using HEU to LEU in 2012.
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced the latest shipment Sept. 22 at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference. “Cooperation with Russia remains an essential element to the global effort addressing the threat posed by nuclear terrorism, and therefore, this cooperation supports key interests of both the United States and the international community,” the NNSA said in a statement. “The Department of Energy (DOE) closely evaluates all cooperative interactions with the Russian Federation on a case-by-case basis before making a determination on whether or not a specific engagement may continue as planned or if it should be canceled or postponed until a later date.”
In a statement at the Nuclear Security Summit earlier this year, Poland confirmed that the final shipment of HEU out of the country is scheduled for 2016 and will include 51 fuel elements with 12.1 kilograms of uranium 235 that will be returned to Russia. Poland also said it paid for the return of LEU fuel to Russia, with 2,595 fuel assemblies containing 201.3 kilograms of uranium (17.4 kilograms of uranium 235) and 4.8 kilograms of plutonium transferred back to Russia.
