NNSA returns spent nuke fuel to Russia

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration has announced the return of 176 pounds of spent nuclear fuel from the Czech Republic to Russia.

"The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (has) announced ... the safe and secure return of 80 kilograms -- 176 lbs -- of highly enriched uranium -- HEU -- in 'spent' nuclear fuel to Russia from the Nuclear Research Institute in Rez, Czech Republic. The spent HEU was transported by rail, in secret and under secure conditions, with the cooperation of several countries," the NNSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, said in a statement Dec. 11.

"The best way to prevent nuclear proliferation is to prevent nuclear materials from getting into the wrong hands in the first place. This is the single biggest shipment of Russian-origin HEU spent fuel to be returned to Russia, under NNSA's mission to reduce the threat of nuclear or radiological proliferation and prevent nuclear terrorism," said NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation William Tobey. "We congratulate the Czech Republic for its leadership role in returning this Russian-origin HEU spent fuel."

"Through NNSA's Global Threat Reduction Initiative -- GTRI, the United States worked with the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Ukraine, and the International Atomic Energy Agency to return the material. It was packaged into sixteen specialized transportation casks and then transported under guard from the Nuclear Research Institute to a railroad station near Rez, Czech Republic. At the railroad station, the casks were loaded onto special railroad cars and shipped through Slovakia and Ukraine to a secure Russian facility, where the spent fuel will be processed," the NNSA said.

"GTRI's mission is to reduce and protect vulnerable nuclear and radiological materials located at civilian sites worldwide. ... The Czech Republic is the second country from which Russian-origin HEU spent fuel has been returned to Russia. Four shipments of spent fuel from Uzbekistan totaling 63 kilograms -- 138.6 lb -- were shipped to Russia in 2006," the agency said.