06 June 2001

State Department on Russia's Plan to Import Nuclear Waste

Following is the text of a question taken at the June 6 regular State Department briefing; an answer was posted later in the day:

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
June 6, 2001
Taken Question (6/6/01)
Russia: Import of Nuclear Waste

Question: What is the U.S. view of Russia's plan to import nuclear waste? Would we allow Japanese and Korean waste, over which we have some control, to be sent to Russia?

Answer: The intent of the Duma legislation is to change Russia's ability to import irradiated foreign power reactor fuel, much of which contains U.S-origin nuclear material. U.S. law and our bilateral agreements provide that the U.S. must give its consent to any retransfer of such material. For Russia to import irradiated fuel containing U.S. origin nuclear material would require a Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the United States, something it does not now have.

In considering whether in the future to grant consent for retransfer, the U.S. would want to consider several factors. For instance, the U.S. would want to be assured that the transfer was for eventual disposal, and not for reprocessing, in order to avoid increases in civil stockpiles of separated plutonium. The U.S. would need to be assured that the planned transportation, storage, and disposition of the fuel complied with appropriate standards of safety and security. An especially important factor would be the nature of Russia's nuclear cooperation with third parties.