FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Joint Statement by the Leaders of Japan and the United States on Contributions to Global Minimization of Nuclear Material
Recalling the history of Japan-U.S. bilateral collaboration on advanced nuclear activities as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) conclusion that all nuclear materials in Japan stay in peaceful activities;
Recalling Japan-U.S. cooperation including through the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) which strengthened nuclear security worldwide by reducing sensitive nuclear material in Japan and other countries and securely transporting the material to the United States; and,
Recalling President Obama’s remarks at Hradcany Square, Prague, Czech Republic on April 5, 2009;
Japan and the United States reaffirm our determination to strengthen nuclear security and to further cooperate, through activities such as our bilateral Nuclear Security Working Group and the GTRI, toward our mutual goal of preventing nuclear terrorism.
Today in The Hague, the Netherlands, on the occasion of the third Nuclear Security Summit, Prime Minister Abe and President Obama pledged to remove and dispose all highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium from the Fast Critical Assembly (FCA) at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) in Japan. This effort involves the elimination of hundreds of kilograms of nuclear material, furthering our mutual goal of minimizing stocks of HEU and separated plutonium worldwide, which will help prevent unauthorized actors, criminals, or terrorists from acquiring such materials. This material, once securely transported to the United States, will be sent to a secure facility and fully converted into less sensitive forms. The plutonium will be prepared for final disposition. The HEU will be downblended to low enriched uranium (LEU) and utilized for civilian purposes.
By committing to remove and dispose all HEU and separated plutonium from the FCA, Japan and the United States reaffirm our belief that the most cutting edge sciences do not necessarily require the use of the most proliferation sensitive materials. In this context, our two countries plan to work together to design new enhancements to the FCA, expanding the facility’s scope to include important research on the transmutation and disposition of nuclear waste. Additionally, to ensure that Japan can safely and securely further its important work on nuclear research and medical isotope production, the United States will continue to accept research reactor spent fuel from several Japanese facilities that utilize LEU.
This pledge complements the significant role that both Japan and the United States are playing in finding new ways to continue improving global nuclear security. Many of the remaining gains that the international community can make in this area will require difficult decisions, and Japan has demonstrated its leadership by resolving to remove all special nuclear material from the FCA, consistent with all Summit Communiqués’ spirit to minimize stocks of nuclear material. Our two countries encourage others to consider what they can do to further HEU and plutonium minimization.
Showing posts with label PRAGUE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PRAGUE. Show all posts
Monday, March 24, 2014
ADVANCING GLOBAL NUCLEAR SECURITY FACT SHEET
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
FACT SHEET: Advancing Global Nuclear Security
In 2009, President Obama launched an ambitious global agenda to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands. During his visit to Prague, the President called on the international community to prevent terrorists from getting access to the building blocks needed for a nuclear bomb by putting an end to dedicated production of weapons-grade materials and securing all of the world’s vulnerable nuclear material within four years. He urged countries to lock down sensitive materials, break up black markets, detect and intercept materials in transit, and use financial tools to disrupt their trade.
Translating ambition into action, the President convened an unprecedented Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC in 2010. Forty seven countries from every region in the world committed to work together to ensure that nuclear materials could not be sold or stolen and fashioned into nuclear weapons.
The stakes are high and the threat is real. The danger of nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to our collective security. The hardest part of making a nuclear weapon is getting the material. Even a small amount of nuclear material could kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Terrorist networks could acquire the materials to assemble their own nuclear weapon, wreaking havoc on global peace and stability, and resulting in extraordinary loss of life and global economic damage.
Since 2009, the world has made substantial progress. The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1887, endorsing a comprehensive agenda to secure all nuclear materials. Individual countries have taken specific and concrete actions to secure nuclear materials in their countries and to prevent illicit trafficking and smuggling. The world has worked to strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to ensure it has the resources and authorities it needs to meet its responsibilities. And we have worked to build the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism into a durable international institution.
Earlier this year, the United States and Russia completed implementation of the 1993 U.S.-Russia Highly Enriched Uranium Purchase Agreement, one of the most successful non-proliferation programs in our history. Low-enriched uranium derived from 500 metric tons of highly enriched uranium blended down from 20,000 Russian nuclear warheads, became fuel for U.S. nuclear power reactors. The program supplied nearly ten percent of all U.S. electricity over the last fifteen years. Since 2010, the U.S. has also blended down 24 MT of excess Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) from our own weapons program, and assisted in removing or confirming the disposition of over 2400 kilograms of HEU and plutonium from other countries.
Through the Summit process, we have established a global network of experts who work on nuclear security at senior levels in 53 governments and multiple international organizations. We have expanded bilateral cooperation on nuclear security with dozens of countries worldwide. And the trends we’re seeing are very positive:
The number of countries and facilities with HEU and plutonium is decreasing:
Twelve countries have completely eliminated HEU or separated plutonium from within their borders.
Twenty seven countries removed or disposed of nearly 3000 kilograms of HEU and separated plutonium.
Twenty four HEU nuclear reactors in 14 countries were successfully converted to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel use or verified as shut down.
Security at storage sites is increasing:
The United States has helped secure 218 buildings in 5 countries storing weapons-usable nuclear materials through physical security upgrades.
We responded effectively to security issues at the Y-12 HEU site in Tennessee and are applying those lessons throughout our nuclear complex.
More countries are prepared to counter nuclear smuggling:
The United States is working with 20 countries to enhance their ability to detect, interdict, attribute and prosecute nuclear smugglers.
260 sites and ports have been equipped with radiation detection systems, and 41 mobile radiation detection cans have been deployed to internal checkpoints in 15 partner countries.
We are providing training to U.S. and partner nation officials in law enforcement, customs, and border security.
More countries are seeking international advice:
The United States hosted its first-ever international advisory security review in October 2013.
Twelve other countries have requested international advisory reviews since the first Summit.
The nuclear security architecture is stronger:
Over two dozen countries have ratified the key nuclear security treaties since the 2010 Summit. The United States continues to pursue ratification of these critical instruments.
The IAEA’s nuclear security team has been elevated and better funded, and has a more rigorous standards development process.
INTERPOL’s radnuke support team has been enhanced.
The United States is committed to continuing its leadership on this vitally important issue. With our allies and partners, we will continue to work to put in place a strong and sustainable global nuclear security architecture designed to reduce the dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism while allowing countries to more safely and effectively pursue peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
We have fulfilled our commitments, improved security at our facilities, and forged new partnerships. We have removed nuclear materials, and in some cases gotten rid of them entirely. As a result, more of the world’s nuclear materials can never fall into the hands of terrorists who would use them against us. While there is much more to be done, we should be proud of all that we have achieved since the first Summit in 2010, and seize this opportunity to move that progress forward.
FACT SHEET: Advancing Global Nuclear Security
In 2009, President Obama launched an ambitious global agenda to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands. During his visit to Prague, the President called on the international community to prevent terrorists from getting access to the building blocks needed for a nuclear bomb by putting an end to dedicated production of weapons-grade materials and securing all of the world’s vulnerable nuclear material within four years. He urged countries to lock down sensitive materials, break up black markets, detect and intercept materials in transit, and use financial tools to disrupt their trade.
Translating ambition into action, the President convened an unprecedented Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC in 2010. Forty seven countries from every region in the world committed to work together to ensure that nuclear materials could not be sold or stolen and fashioned into nuclear weapons.
The stakes are high and the threat is real. The danger of nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to our collective security. The hardest part of making a nuclear weapon is getting the material. Even a small amount of nuclear material could kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Terrorist networks could acquire the materials to assemble their own nuclear weapon, wreaking havoc on global peace and stability, and resulting in extraordinary loss of life and global economic damage.
Since 2009, the world has made substantial progress. The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1887, endorsing a comprehensive agenda to secure all nuclear materials. Individual countries have taken specific and concrete actions to secure nuclear materials in their countries and to prevent illicit trafficking and smuggling. The world has worked to strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to ensure it has the resources and authorities it needs to meet its responsibilities. And we have worked to build the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism into a durable international institution.
Earlier this year, the United States and Russia completed implementation of the 1993 U.S.-Russia Highly Enriched Uranium Purchase Agreement, one of the most successful non-proliferation programs in our history. Low-enriched uranium derived from 500 metric tons of highly enriched uranium blended down from 20,000 Russian nuclear warheads, became fuel for U.S. nuclear power reactors. The program supplied nearly ten percent of all U.S. electricity over the last fifteen years. Since 2010, the U.S. has also blended down 24 MT of excess Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) from our own weapons program, and assisted in removing or confirming the disposition of over 2400 kilograms of HEU and plutonium from other countries.
Through the Summit process, we have established a global network of experts who work on nuclear security at senior levels in 53 governments and multiple international organizations. We have expanded bilateral cooperation on nuclear security with dozens of countries worldwide. And the trends we’re seeing are very positive:
The number of countries and facilities with HEU and plutonium is decreasing:
Twelve countries have completely eliminated HEU or separated plutonium from within their borders.
Twenty seven countries removed or disposed of nearly 3000 kilograms of HEU and separated plutonium.
Twenty four HEU nuclear reactors in 14 countries were successfully converted to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel use or verified as shut down.
Security at storage sites is increasing:
The United States has helped secure 218 buildings in 5 countries storing weapons-usable nuclear materials through physical security upgrades.
We responded effectively to security issues at the Y-12 HEU site in Tennessee and are applying those lessons throughout our nuclear complex.
More countries are prepared to counter nuclear smuggling:
The United States is working with 20 countries to enhance their ability to detect, interdict, attribute and prosecute nuclear smugglers.
260 sites and ports have been equipped with radiation detection systems, and 41 mobile radiation detection cans have been deployed to internal checkpoints in 15 partner countries.
We are providing training to U.S. and partner nation officials in law enforcement, customs, and border security.
More countries are seeking international advice:
The United States hosted its first-ever international advisory security review in October 2013.
Twelve other countries have requested international advisory reviews since the first Summit.
The nuclear security architecture is stronger:
Over two dozen countries have ratified the key nuclear security treaties since the 2010 Summit. The United States continues to pursue ratification of these critical instruments.
The IAEA’s nuclear security team has been elevated and better funded, and has a more rigorous standards development process.
INTERPOL’s radnuke support team has been enhanced.
The United States is committed to continuing its leadership on this vitally important issue. With our allies and partners, we will continue to work to put in place a strong and sustainable global nuclear security architecture designed to reduce the dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism while allowing countries to more safely and effectively pursue peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
We have fulfilled our commitments, improved security at our facilities, and forged new partnerships. We have removed nuclear materials, and in some cases gotten rid of them entirely. As a result, more of the world’s nuclear materials can never fall into the hands of terrorists who would use them against us. While there is much more to be done, we should be proud of all that we have achieved since the first Summit in 2010, and seize this opportunity to move that progress forward.
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