Caribbean, Uzbekistan declared free of high-enriched uranium

摘要

The National Nuclear Security Administration announced in September that all remaining high-enriched uranium (HEU) in the Caribbean region and in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan has been removed. On September 22, in cooperation with the governments of Canada and Jamaica, the NNSA's Office of Material Management and Minimization (M3) completed the removal of approximately 1 kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of U.S.-origin HEU from Jamaica's SLOWPOKE (Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment) research reactor and transported it to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, making the entire Caribbean region free of HEU. As part of the project, M3 also worked to convert the SLOWPOKE reactor to run on low-enriched uranium. "Cooperating with Jamaica and Canada in completing this HEU removal is an outstanding example of how regional cooperation can support global efforts to minimize the civilian use of HEU, while preserving important research capabilities," said Anne Harrington, the NNSA's deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, in a press release. "The removal of the HEU fuel is a significant achievement and could not have been accomplished without the strong leadership and hard work from our counterparts in Jamaica and the technical support of Canada."