RUSSIAN-ORIGIN HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL SHIPMENT FROM HUNGARY

In September 2008, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) and the Hungarian Atomic Energy Research Institute’s Budapest Research Reactor in Budapest, Hungary safely shipped 154.5 kilograms of Russian-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) spent nuclear fuel to the Russian Federation. This shipment, which was conducted by truck, rail, and ship, was the largest and most complex shipment of HEU spent fuel to date under GTRI’s Russian-origin nuclear removal program. This paper details the planning, preparations, and coordination required to complete this important international shipment successfully, and notes several lessons learned that can be applied to future HEU spent fuel shipments.