Nuclear bomb, which exploded in Hiroshima
and wiped it off the face of the earth on 6th of August 1945 contained
about 60 kg of enriched uranium. The bomb had a very simple construction
– one of the uranium pieces was brought to another piece with explosion
thus creating critical mass and generating a nuclear explosion. Since
1970s and, in particular, after the malevolent terrorist attack in the
US in 2001, the world is seriously concerned that terrorists may get
hold of enriched uranium and create such technologically simple but
highly destructive weapons.
By the end of 2014 the estimated world’s
stock of enriched uranium is about 1 370 tonnes. This volume can be
enough for 20 000 bombs similar to the one exploded in Hiroshima.
According to the research of James
Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), in 2013 and 2014 there
have been about 325 incidents of loss, theft or loss of control over
nuclear or radiological materials. In this case, only a few of them
related to materials that can be used for creation of nuclear weapons or
‘dirty’ bombs, but this does not detract the seriousness of such
accidents. Worth noting that about 70% of such incidents occurred in the
US, Canada and France.
Within the framework of the
Russian-American RRRFR program, aimed to return the highly enriched
nuclear fuel to the country of origin from research reactors, the two
main nuclear countries of the world greatly reduce the risks of such
incidents, strengthening the regime of non-proliferation of nuclear
materials and technologies.
One of the bright examples of the
implementation of such initiatives lately is the Polish research reactor
‘Maria’ which switched to the new type of fuel with low-enriched
uranium produced in Russia. At present this reactor, located in the
National Center for Nuclear Research of the Polish Institute of Atomic
Energy, near the town of Shverk, is the only research reactor operating
on the entire territory of Poland. The second reactor, ‘Eve’, was
stopped in 1995 because of impossibility of switching it to low-enriched
fuel. Over 640 kg of highly enriched uranium were imported in Russia
from ‘Eve’ and ‘Maria’ research reactors, built with the assistance of
the USSR. Some experts have stated that this is the ‘largest part’ of
RRRFR program ever implemented yet.
Soviet-type research reactors in Hungary, Vietnam, Libya,
Uzbekistan, Ukraine and the Czech Republic were also switched to work
with low-enriched fuel. Russia has launched the production of fuel
assemblies with the low-enriched uranium for research reactors of
various types in 2013 in order to make a transition.
In total, the Russian part of the program
for the import of the highly enriched uranium covers 14 countries with
research reactors built by the USSR (Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary,
Vietnam, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Libya, Poland, Romania, Serbia,
Uzbekistan, Ukraine and the Czech Republic). In addition, at the end of
2015 Russia has exported all stocks of highly enriched uranium from
Georgia, within the Communiqué of the Nuclear Security Summit in Hague
in 2014.
According to the Minister of Natural
Resources of Georgia Gigla Agulashvili, Georgia no longer possesses
stocks of highly enriched uranium on its territory and it is great
progress in terms of security. Earlier the uranium was used by the
Tbilisi Institute of Isotopes and the nuclear research reactor of the
Georgian Academy of Sciences located in the suburbs of Tbilisi.
According to the Russian-American program
Russia has committed to return 2 529 kg of nuclear fuel (fresh highly
enriched uranium and spent nuclear fuel) to their territory from
research reactors of Soviet design. In turn, the United States should
return 1 390 kg of highly enriched uranium to their territory.
RRRFR program is included in the agenda
of the annual International Summit on Nuclear Security which is to be
held in the coming days in Washington. Russia has been active in
reducing the risks of double use of highly enriched uranium and
proliferation regime but, at the same time, decided not to participate
in the upcoming summit, focusing on cooperation with the IAEA.
http://neurope.eu/article/russia-united-states-strengthen-global-non-proliferation-regime/