Year
2003
Abstract
In August 2002, the inventory of high-enriched uranium (HEU) fresh fuel at the Vinca Institute in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, was repackaged and shipped to the Russian Federation (R.F.), its country of origin under the former Soviet Union. Several thousand small fuel elements were repackaged by the Vinca Institute into approved shipping containers provided by the RF and loaded onto the approved ground transportation vehicle. The transportation from the Vinca Institute to the Belgrade Airport was done under the planning and protection of Yugoslavian and Serbian military and police organizations, with technical oversight being provided by the Vinca staff that escorted the convoy. Under constant security protection, the Russian crew loaded the fuel containers onto the cargo plane, and later it departed for an airport near Dimitrovgrad, Russia. In addition to the domestic control and accounting provided during this operation, this inventory was under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, and its inspectors appropriately confirmed, sealed and documented the inventory. The United States (U.S.) observers were also present, and appropriate data were collected because of nonproliferation interests and contractual support for all phases of the operation. Since this event, the Vinca staff has generated several papers describing the technical background and detailed activities of this operation. This paper describes the removal from the U.S. observers’ perspectives and recognizes the significant cooperation among the supporting countries and the achievements of the organizations directly involved.