13 April 2010
Washington, D.C.
The United States, Mexico, Canada and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have agreed to cooperate on a project to remove all highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel from Mexico.
Specifically, Canada will contribute C$5 million to the United States Department of Energy's projects to fully convert, in partnership with the IAEA, a nuclear reactor in Mexico to use low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel which, unlike HEU fuel, has no nuclear weapons applicability.
Canadian funding would help support the secure packaging, removal and safe transport of HEU fuel from the Salazar Research Reactor to facilities in the United States. All the U.S.-origin fuel, which amount to 11kg of HEU, will be removed in two shipments.
The Salazar Reactor is located near Mexico City and began operations with HEU\LEU fuel core in 1987. The US Department of Energy will provide the LEU as a replacement for the HEU.
This is the fifth cooperation project between Canada's Global Partnership Program and the U.S. Department of Energy's Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI).
This project will continue Canada's long-standing leadership in the field of nuclear security through the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. The G-8-led Global Partnership was launched in Canada in 2002 and Canada has since contributed C$640 million to address weapons and materials of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation and related challenges, out of which $330M relates specifically to nuclear security.
For more information on Canada's work to enhance nuclear security worldwide, please visit the Global Partnership Program Website:
http://www.international.gc.ca/gpp-ppm/global_partnership-partenariat_mondial.aspx
For a recent new release related to contributions by the Global Partnership Program, please consult:
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2009/387317.aspx?lang=en
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