Nuclear Research Reactor Spent Fuel Takeback
November 2004
To reduce the risks of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism, in 1996 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began a ten-year program to accept spent nuclear fuel that the United States had supplied to research reactors in 41 countries. Much of this spent fuel contains highly-enriched uranium (HEU), which can be used to make nuclear weapons. However, only some 35 percent of the eligible fuel has been returned to date. In November 2004, the DOE released a Record of Decision extending the deadline from 2006 to 2016.
UCS supports this decision since there are large quantities of U.S.-origin HEU that remains outside of the United States.
However, the practical impact of the extension will be to allow a substantial additional amount of spent fuel containing low-enriched uranium (LEU)—which cannot be used to make nuclear weapons—to be shipped back to the United States. UCS is concerned that the agreement to accept more LEU spent fuel may divert time and resources away from the chief goal of retrieving U.S.-origin HEU from around the world as soon as possible. We will urge the DOE to ensure that the focus of the program remains on HEU retrieval, and have suggestions for how best to implement the program to ensure that it furthers U.S. nonproliferation goals.
UCS also has concerns that DOE's decision to not prepare a supplement to the original Environmental Impact Statement could leave the extended program open to legal challenges by local communities. Finally, the DOE should begin now to seriously address the long-term management of the returned spent nuclear fuel, as it is legally obligated to do. These issues and recommendations are discussed in a paper presented by UCS senior scientist Edwin Lyman at the 2004 International Meeting on Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors.
Off-site: GAO Report of Foreign Fuel Takeback
