Prague, Dec 10 (CTK) - The Nuclear Research Institute in Rez near Prague has disposed of most of the nuclear material it has amassed over its 50-year existence, Czech State Authority for Nuclear Safety (SUJB) chairwoman Dana Drabova told CTK Monday.
A haul of spent nuclear fuel from the research reactors whose disposal was ordered by the SUJB and sponsored by the former Czech National Property Fund (FNM) has reached Russia, Drabova said.
The spent fuel is to be processed in Russia.
The haul left Rez on December 1 and reached Russia on Saturday, Drabova said, adding that this was part of the effort to lower the risk of misuse of nuclear materials for terrorist purposes and a part of the programme with a view to returning the fuel from Czech research reactors to Russia.
"This is a trilateral initiative of the USA, Russia and the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAAE)," the SUJB said in its press release.
The U.S. embassy in Prague said Rez has returned 80 kilos of highly enriched uranium fuel. The embassy welcomed the transport.
U.S. ambassador Richard Graber said it was an example of international cooperation aimed to lower the risk of nuclear terrorism. The transport is in accordance with the Russian-U.S. joint statement from 1995 on cooperation in nuclear safety.
Apart from the Czech Republic, countries such as Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Libya, Poland and Vietnam have returned enriched uranium to Russia, too.
A week ago, the strictly watched radioactive material was loaded at the railway station in Mesice near Prague.
The haul was reloaded from lorries to a freight train.
The relevant authorities have declined to elaborate on the special event.
"It was a train transporting over 100 tonnes," SUJB deputy chairman Petr Krs told CTK Monday.
Thanks to special containers, the whole haul could be transported by a single train, he added.
"There was the aim of minimising the risk," Krs said.
Both the route and schedule of the strictly controlled haul were kept secret, he added.
The haul has reached a specialised organisation operated by the Russian government, Krs said.
"The organisation amasses this type of nuclear material. In fact, this is no waste, but tremendously valuable raw material," Krs said.
"It is most likely to be reused in the future," Krs said.
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/231/czech_national_news/15833/
No comments:
Post a Comment