Washington (Platts)--12Sep2007

Vietnam and the US signed an "arrangement" on nuclear cooperation, the
DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration announced September 12. Under
the arrangement, scientists from two DOE national laboratories -- Lawrence
Livermore in California and Oak Ridge in Tennessee -- will collaborate with
Vietnamese counterparts in areas such as reactor operations and safety,
radiation protection and radioactive waste disposition, NNSA said in a
statement. Future collaborations will address nuclear safeguards and
regulatory controls, NNSA said. The arrangement will help Vietnam develop
nuclear energy "in ways that will reduce potential nuclear proliferation
concerns," William Tobey, NNSA's top nonproliferation official, said in the
statement.