Russia to retrieve irradiated nuclear fuel from Serbia, Energoatom Concern
Release Date: 2009-06-11
The Governments of Russia and Serbia have signed an agreement for retrieval of irradiated nuclear fuel from Vinca research reactor to Russia.
On June 10, the Director General of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation Sergey Kiriyenko and the Vice Premier for EU Integration, Minister of Science and Technological Development of Serbia Bozidar Jelic signed an inter-governmental agreement for the retrieval of irradiated nuclear fuel from Vinca research reactor for storage in Russia.
The agreement provides legislative basis for the retrieval of spent nuclear fuel from Vinca to Russia for its temporary storage and processing.
The agreement reaffirms the commitment of both parties to strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime and is Russia’s confirmation of the agreements reached by the presidents of Russia and the United States in Bratislava in 2005: in the Slovakian capital Presidents Putin and Bush agreed to combat nuclear terrorism, to ensure return of fresh and spent highly enriched uranium fuel from reactors of Russian and American design, to reduce potential threats of proliferation of highly enriched nuclear materials.
The return of fuel under this agreement will be carried out under the IAEA’s control in the framework of the Russian-US agreement for retrieval of nuclear fuel of Russian manufacture from research reactors and is aimed at reducing the amount of high enriched uranium in third countries.
The agreement will be valid for 10 years with possibility of prolongation.
Information on Bratislava statement
In 2005 in the framework of the initiative Russia returned fresh highly enriched uranium fuel from Libya, Uzbekistan, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Vietnam and Eastern Germany, while the United States from Australia, Germany, Austria, Greece, Japan, Argentina, Sweden, Portugal, Romania and the Netherlands – to the United States. Spent nuclear fuel of Russian manufacture was sent back from Uzbekistan, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Poland, spent nuclear fuel of American origin – from Canada, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Information on Vinca
Presently, the Russian-Serbian scientific-technical cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy is carried out in the framework of the agreement for further cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy signed by the USSR and Yugoslavia Jan 10 1963. The parties have cooperated mostly on the construction and operation of Vinca research reactor. The reactor was stopped in 1984 and is to be dismantled.
As of now the parties have developed technologies and equipment for preparing the spent nuclear fuel for transportation, have released the equipment and have carried out safety assessment of the project.
The delivery of the equipment to Vinca was started in late May 2009 and will be effected in three stages. The installation and testing of the systems and the training of the personnel are scheduled for July-Sept 2009. The repacking of the fuel will be started right afterwards.
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | Energoatom Concern |
| Country: | Russian Federation |