GLOBAL THREAT REDUCTION INITIATIVE EFFORTS TO REMOVE

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000486

DOE/NNSA/NA-21 FORABIENIAWSKI/KCUMMINS/SDICKERSON
NSC FOR GSAYMORE/JCONNERY
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC AND EEB/ESC/IEC
STATE/ISN/FO FOR RSTRATFORD
STATE/ISN/NESS FOR BPLAPP/DFENSTERMACHER
STATE/VC FOR RGOTTEMOELLER


SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM KNNP TRGY CI

SUBJECT: GLOBAL THREAT REDUCTION INITIATIVE EFFORTS TO REMOVE
BRITISH- AND FRENCH-ORIGIN HEU FUEL FROM CHILE


1. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear
Security Administration (DOE/NNSA),Global Threat Reduction
Initiative (GTRI),met with the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission
(CCHEN) from April 21-23 to begin planning for the removal of the
British- and French-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) nuclear
fuel from Chile to the United States. At the conclusion of the
visit, a meeting summary was signed by Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Global Threat Reduction, Andrew Bieniawski, and the Executive
Director of CCHEN, Fernando Lopez. The summary states that the HEU
nuclear fuel in Chile meets DOE-NNSA acceptance criteria and
formalizes a joint GTRI-CCHEN commitment to complete the removal by
April 2010, effectively removing all HEU from Chile. Most
importantly, the removal of this material to the U.S. will
contribute to President Obama's goal to secure all vulnerable
nuclear material within four years and will be completed prior to
the May 2010 NPT REVCON. End Summary.


2. BACKGROUND: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to
prevent terrorists from acquiring the nuclear and radiological
material that could be used in weapons of mass destruction and other
acts of terrorism. GTRI supports this goal by reducing and
protecting vulnerable nuclear and radiological material at civilian
sites worldwide. A cooperative, voluntary program, GTRI provides
international support for national programs to identify, secure,
recover, and/or dispose of these materials that pose a threat to the
international community. GTRI is currently cooperating with more
than 124 countries worldwide, including numerous countries
throughout the Latin American region.


3. When GTRI was founded in May 2004, the program was only
authorized to repatriate certain types of U.S.-origin HEU spent
nuclear fuel under the Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel
(FRRSNF) acceptance program to the United States. Non-U.S.-origin
spent nuclear fuel was not authorized to be brought to the United
States. However, this policy was changed in January 2009, and GTRI
now has the authority to remove non-U.S.-origin HEU spent nuclear
fuel to the U.S., provided that the material meets certain
acceptance criteria. During the April 2009 visit to Chile, GTRI
officials determined that the British- and French-origin HEU nuclear
fuel meets the required acceptance criteria, thereby making the
material eligible for removal to the United States. End
Background.

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Two Research Reactors in Chile
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4. The Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN) currently
maintains two nuclear research reactors: the Rech-1 research
reactor, which is located at the La Reina Nuclear Center in
Santiago; and the Rech-2 research reactor, which is located at the
Lo Aguirre Nuclear Center about 30 kilometers west of Santiago.


5. The Rech-1 research reactor is a 5 megawatt (MW) multipurpose,
pool-type reactor that first achieved criticality on October 13,

1974. Operating about 24 hours a week, the main mission of the
Rech-1 research reactor is to produce medical isotopes for the
Chilean medical industry. The Rech-1 research reactor was fully
converted to use low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel in May 2006, but is
currently storing 13.6 kilograms of British-origin HEU spent nuclear
fuel enriched to 45 percent, which is the material eligible for
removal to the U.S. The LEU fuel for the Rech-1 reactor was
provided by the Russian Federation.


6. The Rech-2 research reactor is also a multipurpose, pool-type
reactor that was originally engineered at 10 MW for Chilean defense
programs and first achieved criticality in 1977. In 1989, the
reactor was redesigned and licensed to operate at 2 MW, but is
currently in extended shutdown. Unlike the Rech-1 research reactor
in Santiago, the Rech-2 reactor is not converted to use LEU fuel and
still contains 4.3 kilograms of French-origin HEU enriched to 90
percent in the reactor core, which is additional material eligible
for removal to the U.S. The HEU raw material for the Rech-2 reactor
was originally provided by France, but the fuel assemblies for this
reactor were manufactured in Spain.


7. Although the redesign and commissioning of the reactor was
successful, this reactor has seen very limited operation and fuel
assemblies in the reactor core are therefore regarded as lightly
irradiated; therefore, they are not considered to be "spent nuclear
fuel." There are also two fresh HEU assemblies (about 275 grams of

fresh HEU),as well as a small quantity of uranyl nitrate liquid
(280 grams) stored in the reactor vault. The two fresh HEU
assemblies and the uranyl nitrate are also French-origin and
enriched to 90 percent. (COMMENT: The uranyl nitrate is a liquid
chemical compound of uranium that does not meet transportation
requirements to the U.S. To remedy this situation, CCHEN has agreed
to use its existing capabilities to convert and downblend the HEU to
LEU in country. The two fresh HEU fuel assemblies are eligible to
be removed to the U.S. End comment.)

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The Plan: Chile Virtually Free of HEU by April 2010
-------------- --------------


8. In summary, the total quantities of HEU nuclear fuel and
material identified for removal to the U.S. are: 13.6 kilograms of
British-origin HEU enriched to 45 percent from the Rech-1 research
reactor; and 4.3 kilograms of lightly irradiated French-origin HEU
enriched to 90 percent and 275 grams of French-origin fresh HEU
enriched to 90 percent from the Rech-2 research reactor.


9. Following an agreed path forward on removal, Chile would
effectively become HEU-free by April 2010 (meaning only a very small
quantity of HEU, less than 1 kilogram, would remain in the form of
fission chambers for nuclear research). This would contribute
directly to President Obama's goal to secure all vulnerable nuclear
material within four years. In addition, upon successful
implementation of the agreed path forward, this progress could be
announced in May 2010, at the upcoming NPT REVCON.


10. Finally, GTRI will also repatriate U.S.-origin disused
radioactive sealed sources to the U.S. for disposition. Last year,
a GTRI team from the Los Alamos National Laboratory packaged over
400 disused U.S.-origin radioactive sealed sources for future return
to the U.S. The packaged sources are securely stored at the Lo
Aguirre site and will be repatriated to the U.S. along with the
foreign-origin HEU fuel from the two research reactors.

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Summary of GTRI-CCHEN Meeting
--------------


11. Begin text:

Meeting Summary

Discussions between DOE/NNSA and the Chilean Nuclear Energy
Commission (CCHEN)

April 23, 2009

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy's National
Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) Global Threat Reduction
Initiative and the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN) met in
Santiago on April 21-23, 2009 to discuss cooperative efforts related
to the removal of British- and French-origin Highly Enriched Uranium
(HEU) from the Rech-1 and Rech-2 research reactors to the U.S. for
storage and disposition.

The primary purpose of the visit was to discuss the removal of
British-origin HEU spent nuclear fuel from the Rech-1 research
reactor and French-origin fresh and lightly-irradiated HEU from the
Rech-2 research reactor to the U.S. for storage and disposition.

Below is a key summary of the meeting:

-- DOE/NNSA representatives noted the very long and productive
relationship with Chile regarding peaceful nuclear cooperation and
expressed their gratitude for Chile's participation and important
contributions to NNSA nonproliferation programs, especially in the
area of nuclear and radiological security.

-- CCHEN recognized the willingness of DOE to help address the issue
of removal of the British and French-origin HEU fuel.

-- Experts from DOE/NNSA and CCHEN discussed the removal of the HEU
at both Rech-1 and Rech-2 as well as the already packaged sealed
radiological sources to the United States and agreed to the
following:

Removal of the British- and French-origin HEU fuel from Rech-1 and

Rech-2 and the already packaged sealed radiological sources:

-- Both DOE/NNSA and CCHEN expressed their ongoing interest in
continuing to work together to remove the British-origin HEU spent
fuel and French-origin fresh and lightly irradiated HEU fuel from
the Rech-1 and Rech-2 research reactors to the United States.

-- DOE/NNSA representatives described the criteria of the revised
DOE Record of Decision that grants provisional authorization to
accept "gap" nuclear material in the United States and noted that,
since no commercial option exists to accept the HEU material, it
could be sent to the United States if it meets the acceptance
criteria of the Savannah River Site.

-- CCHEN representatives briefed about Rech-1 and Rech-2 fuel
status, explaining characteristics and actual condition of the HEU
spent fuel of Rech-1 and slightly irradiated fuel at Rech-2.
Additionally, CCHEN representatives described their fuel fabrication
capabilities.

-- DOE/NNSA representatives visited the Rech-1 and Rech-2 reactor
facilities to begin a preliminary characterization of the HEU fuel
and the fuel fabrication facilities.

-- DOE/NNSA representatives noted that the British- and
French-origin HEU fuel meets the Record of Decision's criteria and
agreed to continue plans to remove the material to the United States
by April 30, 2010.

-- Representatives from DOE/NNSA officially offered to cover all
costs associated with the removal of the British- and French-origin
HEU fuel at the Rech-1 and Rech-2 research reactors as well as the
U.S.-origin sealed radioactive sources. Under this proposal,
DOE/NNSA would be responsible for providing the transportation casks
and paying to transport this fuel to the United States in a safe and
secure manner.

-- Representatives from DOE/NNSA also agreed to provide funding to
CCHEN to fabricate LEU replacement fuel for the removed HEU
materials. It was estimated that the replacement quantity of LEU is
approximately 32 kilograms, which is a quantity equivalent to the
core replacement.

-- DOE/NNSA and CCHEN agreed to include in the upcoming shipment the
more than 400 U.S.-origin radioactive sources that have been jointly
packaged and stored at the Lo Aguirre facility.

-- Representatives from CCHEN agreed to convert and downblend a
small quantity of HEU uranyl nitrate (approximately 280 grams)
currently stored in the HEU storage vault by April 2010.

-- Representatives from CCHEN confirmed that with (1) the upcoming
removal of the British-origin and French-origin HEU fuel and (2) the
downblending of the small quantity of HEU uranyl nitrate,
effectively all remaining HEU would have been removed from Chile.
Representatives from DOE/NNSA and CCHEN also discussed
sustainability and next steps to be taken on this important topic.


-- Both DOE/NNSA and CCHEN officials signed this record of meeting
to formalize the commitment to remove the fuel by April 30, 2010.


Next Steps in this area:

-- Based on this understanding, DOE/NNSA will immediately develop
and submit a proposed draft contract to CCHEN to support removal of
the fresh and irradiated HEU fuel.

-- DOE will consult with IAEA and Portugal to determine if the RERTR
meeting planned for 2010 can be held in Santiago, Chile. DOE will
report back to CCHEN by May 30, 2009.

-- DOE/NNSA has designated Mr. Ray Greenberg Jr., Chile Country
Officer, and Mr. Chuck Messick, Foreign Research Reactor Spent
Nuclear Fuel Acceptance Program Manager, as the lead U.S. points of
contact on this issue.

-- CCHEN has designed Mr. Juan Klein and Mr. Gonzalo Torres as the
lead Chilean points of contact on this issue.

-- Both sides expressed their great appreciation for this agreed
path forward, which lays out expanded cooperation with Chile.

/SIGNED/ /SIGNED/

Andrew Bieniawski Fernando Lopez
Deputy Assistant Secretary Executive Director, CCHEN
For Global Threat Reduction
DOE/NNSA

End Text.

12. Department of Energy contacts are Andrew Bieniawski (202
586-0775),Andrew.Bieniawski@nnsa.doe.gov; Sarah Dickerson (202
586-0686),Sarah.Dickerson@nnsa.doe.gov; and Raymond Greenberg, Jr.
(202 586-8864),Raymond.F.Greenberg.Jr@nnsa.doe.gov.
Department of State point of contact is Brendan Plapp (202
647-6109),PlappBB@state.gov.
SIMONS



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