ACCELERATING THE BLEND-DOWN OF RUSSIA HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM

Russia and the US have cooperated since 1992 under the US-Russian HEU Purchase Agreement to blend down over 200 metric tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons. Under this agreement, 30 metric tons of HEU are blended down each year and shipped to the US, where they supply 50% of US nuclear fuel requirements. Significant stocks of HEU remain in storage in Russia, however, where they raise concerns about the security of long term storage and the need for additional warhead dismantlement. This paper presents the results of analysis of 12 options for accelerating the annual rate of blend down of Russian HEU from 30 metric tons to up to 60 metric tons. It describes the necessary upgrades in equipment and facilities to support these options, and considers rough costs for such upgrades as well as the annual additional costs of the facilities once the capacity has been increased. The paper also presents analysis of trends in the uranium markets, and considers ways to limit the impact of additional blended HEU on the markets. This analysis provides a valuable common basis for initiating negotiations between the US and Russian governments, as well as other interested parties, to accelerate the blend-down of excess HEU.