Last of uranium removed from Latvia

  • 2008-05-23
  • BNS and report by Andris Straumanis

RIGA- Officially all Soviet-era highly enriched uranium has been removedfrom Latvia.The project was part of an effort by the United States and Russia to reduce the threat of nuclearproliferation and terrorism, announced the Washington, D.C.-based NationalNuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

The NNSA, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, announcedMay 16 that 14.4 kilograms (nearly 30 pounds) of the uranium was taken from theSalaspils Research Reactor in Latviato a nuclear facility near Chelyabinsk, Russia, not far from Kazakhstan.

"With this shipment of highly enriched uranium spentnuclear fuel, NNSA has completed the removal of all HEU from Latvia," NNSAAdministrator Thomas D'Agostino stated in a press release. "Thiscooperative effort to secure dangerous nuclear material will help reduce thethreat of nuclear proliferation and prevent nuclear terrorism."
 
In May 2005, NNSA worked with Russian authorities to remove three kilograms ofhighly enriched uranium from Latvia.

The Salaspils Research Reactor began operation in 1961 atSalaspils, near RÄ«ga.It was the only civilian nuclear research facility in the Baltic republics. Disassemblyof the facility began in 2002, according to Latvia's Environment State Bureau.

Removal of the spent nuclear fuel is part of the GlobalInitiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a U.S.-Russian program launched in2006. Latvia is thirdcountry to return Soviet-origin nuclear fuel to Russia, the NNSA said. Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic also have completedremoval.

The American agency is also working with Latvianauthorities to improve detection of illegal shipments of nuclear and otherradioactive materials. The NNSA has helped train Latvian border guards and hasinstalled radiation detection devices at border crossings, airports andseaports.