The IAEA General Conference today received a report that sums up discussions at the IAEA´s Special Event on Assurances of Nuclear Supply and Non-Proliferation. The event was held this week and attracted more than 300 participants from 61 countries and organizations.
The report outlines possible ways forward to guarantee countries´ supplies of nuclear fuel, while minimizing proliferation risks. It addresses policy, legal, and technical issues that were raised during the course of discussions. Proposals under discussion include a nuclear "fuel bank" where the IAEA would administer a nuclear fuel reserve. The report was presented by Mr. Charles Curtis, who chaired the Special Event. (See Story Resources for the full text.)
Earlier this week, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) announced it would contribute $50 million towards the creation of a nuclear fuel reserve. It would assure a back-up supply of fuel for power reactors throughout the world on a non-discriminatory, non-political basis reducing the need for countries to develop their own uranium enrichment technologies at a time when concerns about nuclear proliferation are growing.
Mr. Curtis is President of NTI, a non-governmental organization headquartered in the United States. Keynote speakers during the event included IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei; Sergei Kirienko, Director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Agency; Anne Lauvergeon, Chairman of AREVA´s executive board; Pat Upson, CEO, Enrichment Technology Company Ltd.; Sam Nunn, former US Senator and NTI Co-Chairman; George Assie, Senior Vice President of Cameco; Jose Goldemberg, State Secretarty of the Sao Paolo (Brazil); Shunsuke Kondo, Chairman of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission; Anil Kakodkar, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission of India; and Susan Eisenhower, Chair of The Eisenhower Institute.