EXAMPLES OF THE SERVICES OF AN INTERNATIONAL FUEL CENTRE (IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION) FOR URANIUM

ENRICHMENT AND SPENT FUEL UTILIZATION FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION

In this context, the term ‘international’ refers to the centre functioning on the territory and under jurisdiction of the State supplying nuclear services and means, as follows:

(a) Providing services on a non-discriminatory basis of uranium enrichment and spent fuel management to all countries that strictly follow non-prolif-eration requirements;

(b) Controlling the activities of the centre by IAEA safeguards;

(c) Providing options for diverse cooperation within the framework of the international fuel centre for countries developing nuclear power on a large scale with fast reactors and closure of the nuclear fuel cycle;

(d) Providing the possibility for other countries to take part in the interna-tional fuel centre without access to sensitive technologies involving closed fuel cycles and fast reactors.

The international fuel centre covered by IAEA safeguards might provide the following technological services:

(1) Uranium enrichment, fabrication and shipment of fresh fuel for thermal reactors;

(2) Delivery and temporary storage of spent fuel from foreign thermal reactors;

(3) Reprocessing of spent fuel in a specially dedicated line at a reprocessing facility;

(4) Fabrication of fuel for fast reactors in a specially dedicated MOX fuel production line;

INITIATIVE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

(5) Irradiation of MOX fuel for electricity generation in a fast reactor constructed specifically for this purpose;

(6) Interim storage of spent fuel from the fast reactor followed by its recycling in commercial fast reactors.

The establishment and operation of the first international fuel centre of this kind could enable the practical development of the principal technological and institutional solutions for a global nuclear infrastructure for the sustainable development of civilization. In particular, the work of this centre could demonstrate to the world community the possible ways to resolve the problem of accumulated spent fuel by the first quarter of this century, while preserving the non-proliferation regime.

In terms of non-proliferation, the centre’s effectiveness would be ensured by the fact that a considerable fraction of civil plutonium accumulated in the world would be consolidated and utilized at the international fuel centre under IAEA supervision. Currently, this plutonium is stored as spent fuel in numerous storage facilities in many countries. The availability of centres providing services for spent fuel management on a non-discriminatory basis could eliminate the need for national programmes for the development of sensitive technologies.

FIG. 2. Principal structure and balance flows in the nuclear energy system for a model international fuel centre providing uranium enrichment services and utilizing spent fuel from thermal reactors for energy production.

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, the scheme could substantially increase the cost effectiveness as well as the attractiveness of electricity generation by nuclear power in the eyes of the world community.

4. CONCLUSIONS

Interest in nuclear power as a key element of world energy supply appears to be increasing again. However, large scale use of nuclear energy in the 21st century will be restrained not only by the system and technological limitations inherent in the current approach to nuclear power, but also by political, infrastructure and economic restrictions.

The possibility of coping with these limitations and providing compre-hensive solutions to the problem of energy supply for globally sustainable development can be achieved by the creation of a Global Nuclear Infra-structure, including the organization of international fuel centres providing uranium enrichment services as well as the generation of electricity through the use of spent fuel under IAEA safeguards.

The creation of a large scale worldwide nuclear infrastructure for sustainable development would be impossible without extensive international cooperation. The initiative of the President of the Russian Federation in conjunction with the President of the USA’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) could form, with significant IAEA participation, the political foundation for this cooperation. The result could be an optimized framework for the global future use of nuclear power.

DISCUSSION

J. BOUCHARD (France — Chairperson): Regarding international fuel cycle centres, does ‘international’ mean that they will be managed interna-tionally or that they will be open to international use? How do you see the management of such centres?

A. ZRODNIKOV (Russian Federation): There are several possibilities, which are open for discussion.

A. GONZÁLEZ (Argentina): Like Mr. Brown before him, Mr.

Zrodnikov made no mention of an international nuclear safety regime. What we have at the moment is just an embryo, but without a solid safety regime I do not see how the Russian President’s proposal can succeed.

INITIATIVE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

A. ZRODNIKOV (Russian Federation): I see an important task for the IAEA there.

L. VAN DEN DURPEL (Belgium): In the presentations of Mr. Pellaud and Mr. Brown, fuel leasing meant that the spent fuel was taken back by the manufacturing country. In the IAEA multilateral approaches document, however, there is also talk about a ‘take-away’ — as opposed to a ‘take back’

— approach, whereby the spent fuel would be sent by the leasing country to a third country. At this conference, there has so far been no mention of the ‘take away’ approach, for which the institutional arrangements would be different from those for the ‘take back’ approach. Why is that?

L. BROWN (USA): Some of the international legal difficulties in returning spent fuel or moving it across borders have already been mentioned this morning. The GNEP initiative is going to take a decade or two to produce the technologies that would make fuel leasing with take back viable from our perspective, so obviously we would also need to work in the international agreements area at the bilateral or the IAEA level. But, as I understood it from Mr. Zrodnikov’s presentation, the Russian Federation is, or soon will be, able to take back spent fuel under arrangements made bilaterally or multilaterally. I think that might be a model that the rest of us could work towards.

J. BOUCHARD (France — Chairperson): This kind of ‘circulation’ has already been done in the past, with the fuel provided by one country being used in another country and then sent to a third country for reprocessing. I did not hear in the presentations of Mr. Brown and Mr. Zrodnikov anything that would seem to preclude that possibility, which should be kept open even if it would involve difficulties, because we will need such flexibility in the future.

R. EINZIGER (USA): With this particular system there is going to be a lot more transport of fuel. What about the resulting additional security risks?

L. BROWN (USA): Obviously, if you do any more than what you are doing now, it is going to involve new challenges — transport being a significant one.