The United States and Russia have extended the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Umbrella Agreement, agreeing to continue to cooperate on threat reduction activities in Russia. The existing agreement, first signed in 1992, expired Sunday, and the signing of the new agreement puts to rest fears that Russia would not want to agree to continue the landmark agreement. Under the new agreement, the White House said the U.S. and Russia will collaborate on protecting, controlling and accounting for nuclear materials under the “Framework Agreement on a Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programming in the Russian Federation” and a related bilateral protocol. “I think is an example of the kind of constructive, cooperative relationship that moves us out a Cold War mindset into the realm where by working together, we not only reach security and prosperity for the Russian and American people but also help lead the world to a better place,” President Barack Obama said during a joint appearance yesterday on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S., RUSSIA SIGN EXTENSION TO NUNN-LUGAR COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION AGREEMENT
NNSA removes high-risk cesium from Vermont
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has removed all high-risk cesium-137 from Vermont, making it the 15th U.S. state or territory declared free of high-risk quantities of the radioactive material. This follows a July operation in which a team from Idaho National Laboratory removed a self-shielded cesium irradiator from the University of Vermont in Burlington […]