IAEA agrees on establishment of int’l nuclear fuel bank
Dec. 6, 2010
Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency agreed Friday to establish an international nuclear fuel bank of low-enriched uranium.
In a resolution submitted by the United States and other countries, member states authorized the agency's director general to establish such a nuclear fuel reserve.
The bank will ensure supply of low-enriched uranium for IAEA member states that cannot produce the material themselves or buy it on the commercial market due to ''extraordinary circumstances'' but need it for peaceful purposes.
''It is a modest but important step that will protect the rights of all states to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,'' the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, Glyn Davies, told reporters after the board meeting.
Under the envisioned scheme, the IAEA will own and operate the material and be responsible for its storage and protection.
It will then be up to the IAEA director general to decide if a country applying to buy the uranium from the fuel bank meets certain criteria.
Funding for the establishment of the reserve is provided by contributions from the United States, Norway, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a U.S. nonprofit organization.
Details about how the bank will function have not been decided, nor has it been determined which country will host it.
Once established, the reserve will be the first international nuclear fuel bank run by an international organization.
Earlier this week a Russian nuclear fuel bank operated by the state-owned atomic energy corporation Rosatom was opened. The bank holds 120 tons of low-enriched uranium in a storage facility in Angarsk under the auspices of the IAEA and helps to ensure IAEA member states have access to low-enriched uranium for nuclear power reactors in case of interruptions of supply from abroad.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Dec. 3, 2010)
In a resolution submitted by the United States and other countries, member states authorized the agency's director general to establish such a nuclear fuel reserve.
The bank will ensure supply of low-enriched uranium for IAEA member states that cannot produce the material themselves or buy it on the commercial market due to ''extraordinary circumstances'' but need it for peaceful purposes.
''It is a modest but important step that will protect the rights of all states to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,'' the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, Glyn Davies, told reporters after the board meeting.
Under the envisioned scheme, the IAEA will own and operate the material and be responsible for its storage and protection.
It will then be up to the IAEA director general to decide if a country applying to buy the uranium from the fuel bank meets certain criteria.
Funding for the establishment of the reserve is provided by contributions from the United States, Norway, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a U.S. nonprofit organization.
Details about how the bank will function have not been decided, nor has it been determined which country will host it.
Once established, the reserve will be the first international nuclear fuel bank run by an international organization.
Earlier this week a Russian nuclear fuel bank operated by the state-owned atomic energy corporation Rosatom was opened. The bank holds 120 tons of low-enriched uranium in a storage facility in Angarsk under the auspices of the IAEA and helps to ensure IAEA member states have access to low-enriched uranium for nuclear power reactors in case of interruptions of supply from abroad.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Dec. 3, 2010)
