12 April 2010
The most difficult challenge for a terrorist organization seeking to build a nuclear weapon or improvised nuclear device is obtaining fissile material, either plutonium or highly enriched uranium (HEU).
To help deter the possibility of this happening, the international community has been moving towards consolidating fresh and spent HEU at a smaller number of secure locations. This has resulted in several countries returning HEU to original suppliers — principally the United States and Russia — as well as the consolidation of inventories within countries.
Canada has a significant quantity of spent U.S.-origin HEU fuel stored at the Chalk River National Laboratories. Canada and the U.S. have agreed to cooperate in the repatriation of this U.S.-origin HEU fuel to the U.S. between 2010 and 2018. The return of the spent HEU fuel to the U.S. will result in increased security of this inventory and in significant cost savings over long-term management in Canada.
Government support of this project of up to $65 million will be provided through the Government of Canada’s Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program’s existing budget.
The Government of Canada’s Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program was announced in June 2006 and provides a long-term strategy to manage legacy wastes and contamination on Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) sites, including Chalk River.
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