Representatives
from around the globe are gathered in Astana, Kazakhstan, to launch the
International Atomic Energy Agency’s Low
Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank. Through this initiative, Member States of
the IAEA will be able to access a ready reserve of nuclear material for
fueling peaceful power reactors should they have difficulties securing
such material on the international market.
The IAEA and its Member States have worked tirelessly for many years to
realize the fruition of this common goal. The Government of
Kazakhstan, by volunteering to host the LEU Bank, which was first
conceived and funded by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, has
further cemented its reputation as a world leader in promoting
nonproliferation and nuclear security.
In
Prague in 2009, President Obama called for the development of an
international fuel bank to ensure all countries could access
peaceful nuclear power without increasing the risks of proliferation.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the American Assured
Fuel Supply, a reserve stockpile of nuclear power reactor fuel material
created by down-blending surplus highly enriched
uranium from the U.S. weapons program. The American Assured Fuel
Supply, along with similar programs by the Russian Federation and the
United Kingdom, complement the IAEA’s LEU Bank and, taken together, give
countries that are pursuing peaceful nuclear power
programs a reliable supply of material for power reactor fuel in case
of market disruptions. This helps reduce the incentives for countries
to develop costly and concerning domestic programs to enrich uranium for
their reactors.
The President appreciates President Nazarbayev’s important leadership on nonproliferation spanning more than two decades.
Source: Ned Price, National Security Council spokesperson
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