POLAND: DOE OFFICIALS DISCUSS SPENT REACTOR FUEL

UNCLAS WARSAW 000178

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE DKOSTELANCIK AND MSESSUMS
DEPT FOR NP/NE
DOE FOR TYACKE AND BOLSHINSKY
DOD FOR OSD/POLICY HSTRAUSS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TRGY KNNP ECON ENRG PL IAEA
SUBJECT: POLAND: DOE OFFICIALS DISCUSS SPENT REACTOR FUEL
DISPOSITION



1. Econoff attended a meeting of DOE officials Michael
Tyacke and Igor Bolshinsky and GOP officials from the
National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA),State Treasury, and
Radioactive Waste Management Authority on 26 January 2006.
Tyacke and Bolshinsky presented information on the DOE's
Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return (RRRFR) Program, created
to repatriate Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) spent fuel to
Russia. PAA Director Dr. Jerzy Niewodniczanski chaired the
meeting and showed interest in pursuing GOP participation in
the program. Both sides agreed to move forward, noting the
timeline for completing all necessary agreements could take
more than three years.


2. Responsibility for nuclear fuel is parceled out to three
entities in the GOP. The PAA oversees all safety and
regulatory issues and acts as liaison between the GOP and the
IAEA. The State Treasury is responsible for the disposal of
used radioactive material, and the Ministry of Economy
supervises the research and use of radioactive material.
Poland has three nuclear research reactors, only one of
which, Maria, is currently operational. The GOP has never
shipped any nuclear material back to Russia, and so has quite
a bit stored. In fact, Tyacke and Bolshinsky said that there
are more than 1,000 HEU assemblies in Poland, each holding
about 50 grams of HEU. The RRRFR stipulates a cutoff date of
2010, by which time all HEU must be repatriated. Poland must
begin negotiating now in order to meet this deadline.


3. Poland's first step is to negotiate the smaller
agreements that will allow DOE to begin the project's
preparatory work. The first agreement of this type is a
"preparation" contract governing technical surveys of Poland
HEU stockpile. The GOP will also need to assume complete
liability for all work done during the project, which
relieves the USG of any liability. This can be accomplished
through a WMD Treaty or other means. The GOP will also need
to ensure that no taxes are levied on any USG assistance,
money, or equipment that is provided to Poland during the
project. The most politically challenging move, according to
Tyacke and Bolshinsky, will be to negotiate with the GOR
concerning conditions and costs of repatriating and storing
the HEU. Once the HEU is repatriated to a Russian facility
it will be blended and sealed in glass encasements for a
period of twenty years, during which time the materials is
simply too hot to move. The fate of the material after this
twenty-year period is open to negotiation between the GOP and
GOR. Tyacke and Bolshinsky noted these agreements are often
difficult to reach, due to the uncertain costs of storing and
monitoring spent fuel over such a long period of time. The
resulting information assymetry can lead to breakdowns in
trust between negotiating parties.
ASHE