BN-350 HIGHLY ENRICHED SPENT FUEL DISPOSITION

This paper summarizes the history of the joint U.S.-Kazakhstan BN-350 Spent Fuel Disposition Program following the shutdown of the BN-350 reactor in 1999. This program includes the loading of nearly 2,800 spent nuclear fuel assemblies containing almost three metric tons of Pu into 1.5-ton, four-meter-long steel canisters; the construction of a temporary storage location at the BN-350 site; and, loading and shipping the casks to a secure storage site at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. In 1997, the U.S. and Kazakhstan agreed to undertake the joint program to improve the safety and security of this material. The security concerns were of particular importance due to the large quantity of plutonium present, the plutonium is better than standard weapons-grade plutonium (>90% Pu-239) and the fact that the site is located on the shore of the Caspian Sea, across from Iran. A brief overview of the physical protection considerations to be addressed during transit of the material across Kazakhstan and long-term storage at the Baikal-1 nuclear site is also presented. There is enough weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium in the BN-350 spent fuel to make 775 nuclear weapons. The joint U.S.-Kazakhstan BN-350 Spent Fuel Disposition Program represents one of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative’s many projects to protect the greatest risk materials around the world.