Nuclear risksU.S., three European countries, commit to HEU reductions
Leaders of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United States said they were taking steps to minimize the use of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) for civilian purposes, where technically and economically feasible, in order to advance the goal of nuclear security
A billet, or "button" of highly enriched uranium // Source: gazetesiz.com
Leaders of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United States, gathered in Seoul on the occasion of the second Nuclear Security Summit, said they were taking steps to minimize the use of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) for civilian purposes, where technically and economically feasible, in order to advance the goal of nuclear security. The four countries have committed to a set of activities designed to minimize the use of HEU and ensure a reliable supply of medical isotopes for patients in need of medical diagnostic treatments.
Currently, in some facilities, HEU is still indispensable to produce medical radioisotopes used for radiopharmaceutical products. Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, as leading European countries involved in producing isotopes, agreed that they had a special responsibility to ensure their reliable supply for the benefit of the international medical community.
The four countries acknowledge that HEU, which can be directly used for the manufacture of nuclear explosive devices, is particularly sensitive and requires special precautions. For this reason, these four countries said that they were taking measures to ensure that security at all facilities using HEU, including medical isotope production facilities.
The three European countries, in cooperation with the United States, said they were determined to support conversion of European production industries to non-HEU-based processes by 2015, subject to regulatory approvals, to reach a sustainable medical isotope production. They said that in the longer term, the use of HEU will be completely eliminated for medical isotopes produced in Belgium, France, and The Netherlands and used in those countries and in the United States.
The three countries also said that they will deal with existing large amounts of scrap HEU resulting from past activities by recycling or disposing them, with the support of the United States and other partners.
The United States, for its part, said it is prepared to supply the three countries with the necessary HEU target material to ensure uninterrupted production of medical isotopes needed for diagnosing heart disease, cancer, and studying organ structure and function.
