Tweet
OFFICIAL SAYS RUSSIAN WARHEADS FUEL HALF OF U.S. NUCLEAR POWER
October 10, 2013 - 10:13 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Decommissioned Russian warheads are fueling
"approximately half of the nuclear energy in the United States,"
a senior U.S. State Department official said Wednesday, Oct 9,
according to RIA Novosti.
"Over the past 15 years, nuclear fuel from this source has accounted
for approximately 10 percent of all electricity produced in the United
States," U.S. Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Rose
Gottemoeller told a United Nations committee in New York.
Under a landmark 1993 nonproliferation deal, the United States has
purchased uranium derived from around 20,000 Russian nuclear warheads
eliminated under the accord - informally known as the "Megatons to
Megawatts" program - and converted the material into nuclear fuel to
be used by nearly all U.S. nuclear power plants, Gottemoeller told
the committee.
A final shipment of low-enriched uranium derived from 500 metric tons
of highly-enriched uranium from Russian weapons is set to be loaded
onto ships in St. Petersburg next month in the presence of U.S.
officials and delivered to the United States, she said.
"We will meet again in the United States when that ship delivers this
important cargo in December," Gottemoeller said. "We look forward to
jointly celebrating this historic achievement."
In her remarks to the committee, Gottemoeller praised bilateral
nonproliferation efforts between the two countries but said what has
been accomplished "is not enough."
"The United States and Russian Federation still possess over 90
percent of the nuclear weapons in the world, and it is time we move
beyond Cold War postures," she said.
U.S. President Barack Obama said in a speech in Berlin in June that he
would negotiate to cut another one-third of U.S. and Russian nuclear
arsenals and seek "bold reductions in U.S. and Russian tactical
weapons in Europe."
Russian officials at the time expressed doubts about the proposed
cuts, but Gottemoeller said Wednesday that Washington will "pursue a
treaty" with Moscow on negotiated cuts in the two sides' respective
nuclear arsenals.
Since the New START nuclear disarmament treaty entered into force in
February 2011, the United States and Russia have exchanged more than
5,000 treaty notifications providing the two sides "day-to-day updates
on the status of each others' nuclear forces," Gottemoeller said.
"These are joined by the 97 on-site inspections that we have now
conducted under New START, which give us even more insights into
each others' nuclear forces, thus enhancing predictability for both
countries," she said.
The New START Treaty was signed by Obama and former Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev in April 2010 and was held up by both sides as the
centerpiece of their vaunted campaign to "reset" rocky US-Russian
relations. Hawkish U.S. lawmakers have criticized Obama for signing
the pact.
The respected Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said in a blog
post on its website last week that in the past six months, the United
States has increased its deployed nuclear forces and is moving slowly
to implement the New START nuclear disarmament treaty even as Russia
cuts its own forces well beyond treaty limits.
October 10, 2013 - 10:13 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Decommissioned Russian warheads are fueling
"approximately half of the nuclear energy in the United States,"
a senior U.S. State Department official said Wednesday, Oct 9,
according to RIA Novosti.
"Over the past 15 years, nuclear fuel from this source has accounted
for approximately 10 percent of all electricity produced in the United
States," U.S. Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Rose
Gottemoeller told a United Nations committee in New York.
Under a landmark 1993 nonproliferation deal, the United States has
purchased uranium derived from around 20,000 Russian nuclear warheads
eliminated under the accord - informally known as the "Megatons to
Megawatts" program - and converted the material into nuclear fuel to
be used by nearly all U.S. nuclear power plants, Gottemoeller told
the committee.
A final shipment of low-enriched uranium derived from 500 metric tons
of highly-enriched uranium from Russian weapons is set to be loaded
onto ships in St. Petersburg next month in the presence of U.S.
officials and delivered to the United States, she said.
"We will meet again in the United States when that ship delivers this
important cargo in December," Gottemoeller said. "We look forward to
jointly celebrating this historic achievement."
In her remarks to the committee, Gottemoeller praised bilateral
nonproliferation efforts between the two countries but said what has
been accomplished "is not enough."
"The United States and Russian Federation still possess over 90
percent of the nuclear weapons in the world, and it is time we move
beyond Cold War postures," she said.
U.S. President Barack Obama said in a speech in Berlin in June that he
would negotiate to cut another one-third of U.S. and Russian nuclear
arsenals and seek "bold reductions in U.S. and Russian tactical
weapons in Europe."
Russian officials at the time expressed doubts about the proposed
cuts, but Gottemoeller said Wednesday that Washington will "pursue a
treaty" with Moscow on negotiated cuts in the two sides' respective
nuclear arsenals.
Since the New START nuclear disarmament treaty entered into force in
February 2011, the United States and Russia have exchanged more than
5,000 treaty notifications providing the two sides "day-to-day updates
on the status of each others' nuclear forces," Gottemoeller said.
"These are joined by the 97 on-site inspections that we have now
conducted under New START, which give us even more insights into
each others' nuclear forces, thus enhancing predictability for both
countries," she said.
The New START Treaty was signed by Obama and former Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev in April 2010 and was held up by both sides as the
centerpiece of their vaunted campaign to "reset" rocky US-Russian
relations. Hawkish U.S. lawmakers have criticized Obama for signing
the pact.
The respected Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said in a blog
post on its website last week that in the past six months, the United
States has increased its deployed nuclear forces and is moving slowly
to implement the New START nuclear disarmament treaty even as Russia
cuts its own forces well beyond treaty limits.