VIENNA – U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said Monday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will monitor the dilution and disposal of 6 metric tons of excess plutonium at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.
Moniz announced during the opening ministerial segment of the IAEA’s International Conference on Nuclear Security: Commitments and Actions that DOE is “embarking on an effort” to dilute and dispose of the plutonium, which is separate from the 34 metric tons the U.S. committed to dispose of under the now-suspended U.S.-Russian Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA).
The U.S. is “beginning consultations with the IAEA for the monitoring and verification of this process as yet another tangible commitment by the United States to ensure this material will not be used again in nuclear weapons,” Moniz said.
The Savannah River Site announced in late September that it had begun downblending the 6 metric tons, which will be sent to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for disposal. A DOE-Savannah River spokesperson said at the time that a small portion of plutonium was being treated at the site’s K Area Complex; it was unclear as of Monday how much had been downblended.
At a press conference Monday, Moniz said the U.S. is working with the IAEA to develop monitoring and verification procedures for “maximum transparency in that process.”
Moniz also noted during his initial remarks that the United States has contributed $18 million to the IAEA’s nuclear security fund this year and is partnering with the agency “to increase the focus on detection countermeasures around key, high-population density urban areas – a more robust, defense-in-depth approach to national-level nuclear detection architectures.”
“This work dovetails with the wider imperative for all nations to develop and maintain plans and capabilities for emergency response and the need to exercise those capabilities, and it aligns with the IAEA’s 20 years of success in providing nuclear security advisory services,” Moniz said.
