US, Russia remove nuke fuel from Vietnam
Source: Agencies |
July 3, 2013, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE United States and Russia have helped ship out nearly 16 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from Vietnam as part of a global campaign to reduce the use of nuclear fuel that could also provide material for atom bombs.
The move made Vietnam the 11th country from which all highly enriched uranium has been removed in the last four years, it was announced during a meeting in Vienna on how to prevent potential bomb ingredients from falling into the wrong hands.
There are about 1,440 tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and 500 tons of plutonium stockpiled and in nuclear arms globally, says the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group. Most of it is under military guard but some for civilian uses is less stringently secured.
Analysts say that radical groups could theoretically build a crude but deadly nuclear weapon if they had the money, technical knowledge and materials needed.
"With this accomplishment (in Vietnam), we will have removed nearly all highly enriched uranium from Southeast Asia," US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. The material, he said, will be downblended into low-enriched uranium to fuel power reactors.
But, "highly enriched uranium still exists in too many places where there are viable alternatives," said Moniz.
Refined uranium fuels nuclear energy reactors but, if processed further, can also form the fissile core of nuclear bombs. Highly-enriched uranium has traditionally been used for research reactors, making such plants especially sensitive.
The first uranium shipment from Vietnam's Dalai Nuclear Research Institute to Russia, where it originally came from, took place six years ago and there was a second delivery this month, Russian envoy Grigory Berdennikov said.
In the previous such case, the White House said in April that the United States and its allies secured 68 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from the Czech Republic.
Obtaining weapons-grade fissile material poses the biggest challenge for militant groups, so it must be kept secure both at civilian and military facilities, experts say.
A fairly simple-to-design bomb would require about 50kg-60kg of highly enriched uranium, the group said. More sophisticated devices would need less material, experts say.
The United States is working with other countries to "implement technologies to minimise and eventually eliminate the civilian use" of HEU, Moniz said.
He said he had asked Japanese officials during the conference in Vienna "of how the planning is going to manage plutonium stocks" in Japan.
Japan's plans for a major nuclear fuel reprocessing facility would yield plutonium for the recycling of spent reactor fuel.
The move made Vietnam the 11th country from which all highly enriched uranium has been removed in the last four years, it was announced during a meeting in Vienna on how to prevent potential bomb ingredients from falling into the wrong hands.
There are about 1,440 tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and 500 tons of plutonium stockpiled and in nuclear arms globally, says the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group. Most of it is under military guard but some for civilian uses is less stringently secured.
Analysts say that radical groups could theoretically build a crude but deadly nuclear weapon if they had the money, technical knowledge and materials needed.
"With this accomplishment (in Vietnam), we will have removed nearly all highly enriched uranium from Southeast Asia," US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. The material, he said, will be downblended into low-enriched uranium to fuel power reactors.
But, "highly enriched uranium still exists in too many places where there are viable alternatives," said Moniz.
Refined uranium fuels nuclear energy reactors but, if processed further, can also form the fissile core of nuclear bombs. Highly-enriched uranium has traditionally been used for research reactors, making such plants especially sensitive.
The first uranium shipment from Vietnam's Dalai Nuclear Research Institute to Russia, where it originally came from, took place six years ago and there was a second delivery this month, Russian envoy Grigory Berdennikov said.
In the previous such case, the White House said in April that the United States and its allies secured 68 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from the Czech Republic.
Obtaining weapons-grade fissile material poses the biggest challenge for militant groups, so it must be kept secure both at civilian and military facilities, experts say.
A fairly simple-to-design bomb would require about 50kg-60kg of highly enriched uranium, the group said. More sophisticated devices would need less material, experts say.
The United States is working with other countries to "implement technologies to minimise and eventually eliminate the civilian use" of HEU, Moniz said.
He said he had asked Japanese officials during the conference in Vienna "of how the planning is going to manage plutonium stocks" in Japan.
Japan's plans for a major nuclear fuel reprocessing facility would yield plutonium for the recycling of spent reactor fuel.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
