St Petersburg, Aug 22, 2005 -- BBC Monitoring
The latest cargo, 42 tonnes of low-enriched uranium, has left
the port of St Petersburg for Baltimore under the Russian-US
HEU-LEU [high-enriched uranium - low-enriched uranium] agreement,
known as the Megatons to Megawatts programme.
According to the press release issued by the
Tekhsnabeksport joint stock company, "the departure of this latest
cargo signals an important milestone in the implementation of this
unique programme of cooperation between the Russian Federation and
the USA in the area of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation".
[Passage omitted] From the time the first cargo of low-enriched
uranium was dispatched on 31 May 1995, around 7,350 tonnes of this
material, produced from the processing of 250 tonnes of
high-enriched uranium, have been sent to the USA [figures as
received]. This is half the total quantity [of high-enriched
uranium] of 500 tonnes cited in the HEU-LEU agreement. In this
way, the press release notes, the Megatons to Megawatts programme,
"has crossed the half-way mark and reached its concluding stage".
"In terms of nuclear disarmament, this means approximately 10,000
nuclear warheads have been dismantled once and for all. The energy
produced by the USA from this [which uses the low-enriched uranium
in its nuclear power stations] is in the region of 3,000bn
kilowatt hours, which is equivalent to burning approximately 750bn
cubic metres of natural gas or 650m tonnes of oil." The sum
received by Russia for the delivery of the material is more than
5.3bn dollars. "All revenue from the implementation of the HEU-LEU
agreement goes into the Russian federal budget. In 2004 this
revenue equalled about 10 per cent of all planned non-tax
receipts," the press release says. The revenue generated is used
in financial programmes for improving the safety of Russian
nuclear power stations, converting military plants and cleaning up
contaminated areas.
Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0939 gmt 22
Aug 05
BBC Mon FS1 FsuPol vpa/skh
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