U.S., Russia sign deal to reduce risk of nuclear materials abroad
May 27, 2004
MOSCOW -- The United States and Russia took their first step Thursday in a new program to reduce the risk of poorly guarded nuclear materials at research facilities around the world falling into the hands of terrorists.
"This will reduce the threat of terrorism and prevent the proliferation of weapons-grade uranium," U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told reporters after signing a bilateral agreement with Russian officials.
Under the plan, the United States and other nations will pay for more than a dozen countries to send nuclear materials they have received from Russia back to the Russians.
The agreement calls for all unused highly enriched uranium fuel that came from Russia to be returned by the end of next year. Spent fuel would be returned to Russia by 2010, Abraham said.
Russian nuclear agency chief Alexander Rumyantsev, who also signed the agreement, called it "a very important event because we know how to treat irradiated fuel" and because it reflects cooperation with the United States.
The program is part of a $450 million effort, announced by Abraham in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, under which Washington and Moscow will seek to repatriate the most highly dangerous nuclear materials from research reactors in foreign countries.
Return to the United States of fuel that originated in America is targeted for completion within a decade, with action on the most dangerous material planned first, according to a statement by Abraham released Wednesday.
Both the United States and Russia are capable of reprocessing the materials into less dangerous forms and storing them more securely than they often would be at foreign research centers. |
