THE U.S. HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM DISPOSITION PROGRAM

Over the past decade, the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Surplus U.S. Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) Disposition Program has eliminated more than 100 metric tons of surplus U.S. weapons-usable HEU by downblending it to low-enriched uranium (LEU) for use in power and research reactors in the United States and abroad. The program has substantially reduced quantities of fissile materials throughout the Department of Energy complex, ridding the world of more than 2000 weapons worth of unneeded bomb material, helped reduce civil use of HEU worldwide, and made a significant contribution to electricity supplies. Keeping nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorist groups and rogue nations is a driving force behind many national initiatives undertaken in the past decade. It has also been a stated goal of the last several U. S. Presidents and Congresses. The U.S. is committed to reducing its stockpile of nuclear weapons and has been investing significant funds and international credibility in setting and meeting dismantlement schedules. Continuing to dispose of surplus HEU and make it unusable for weapons is critical if the U.S. is to maintain its credibility and position of authority in the nonproliferation realm. This paper describes several major HEU disposition projects that have been completed, are in progress, or are planned. The paper will describe the HEU inventories that were declared excess to national security needs in the mid-90s and additional HEU that was removed from future use in nuclear weapons in 2005, as well as discuss plans for additional future projects and the path forward.