WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- All of the highly enriched uranium has been removed from Hungary as part of a multiyear international effort, the U.S. Department of Energy said.
Hungary, the United States, Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency coordinated the removal program. Hungary is the 12th country to rid itself of highly enriched uranium since 2009.
"We know that in the wrong hands, just small amounts of these materials could be used to create a weapon of mass destruction," U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement Monday. "This operation in Hungary and our ongoing partnerships with countries around the world help to ensure that terrorists never obtain a nuclear weapon."
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has said highly enriched uranium is a desirable resource for terrorists bent on developing a small nuclear explosive device.
The Energy Department said enough highly enriched uranium was removed from Hungary to make nine nuclear weapons. The final cache was removed over a six-week period and sent to Russia, where it will be reprocessed for nuclear fuel.
