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Czechs return 80 kg of enriched uranium to Russia
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic has returned 80 kg (176.4 lb) of highly enriched uranium in spent nuclear fuel to Russia as part of a push to reduce stockpiles of nuclear material worldwide, the US Embassy said on Monday. Sixteen transportation casks containing the fuel were shipped safely and securely on special railway cars from a Czech research institute through Slovakia and Ukraine to Russia on Dec. 8, the embassy in Prague said a statement.It marked the biggest shipment returning Russian-origin spent fuel in line with a 2005 agreement between the United States and Russia on enhanced nuclear security cooperation. This is an example of the international community working collectively to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism, and is the kind of concrete international security action that increases both US security and that of our allies, said US Ambassador to the Czech Republic Richard Graber. The spent fuel from the Czech research institute was sent to an unidentified, secure Russian facility, where it will be reprocessed over the next several years, the embassy said. The shipment raised the total of highly enriched uranium fuel sent back to Russia to 590 kg (1,300 lb). Posted by: Steve White 2007-12-11 |
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