Moving from Civil HEU Minimization to Elimination: Defining a New International Agenda

Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is a material of significant security concern because of its abundance, relative ease of use in a terrorist nuclear weapon, and distribution around the world. Large amounts of HEU for civilian and military purposes exist in many countries. The bulk of this HEU is located in the US and Russia, though significant stockpiles are also found in many other states. Support for minimization of civilian HEU is growing - this has been reflected at the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference and the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit. In addition to reducing the threat of a terrorist acquiring the material, HEU minimization is important as a non-proliferation concern, to advance international cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to support nuclear disarmament. Great progress in minimization of HEU stocks and utilization has been achieved in the past decade, including the conversion of HEU-fueled reactors to LEU, the development of low enriched uranium (LEU) processes to replace those using HEU and cooperative efforts such as the US-Russian HEU blend-down program (Megatons to Megawatts). Taking into account technical progress of the last decade, and the changed political landscape, the time has come to begin discussing HEU elimination from the civil sector and seriously consider opportunities for minimization in the military, non-weapons sector. In order to develop a future HEU minimization agenda, it is important to review the progress made and scope of efforts to date, assess remaining challenges and identify possible new measures to address them. While there may remain differences on pace and priority of HEU minimization and elimination efforts, there is a robust and growing consensus on the principle. It is the responsibility of all stakeholders to seize the moment, broaden the consensus and make commitments irreversible.