Putin emphasizes restrictions harmless to Russia
Putin immediately stated that only restrictions that would not harm Russia should be introduced.
Maciej Lipka calms downthat even if Russia stopped from one day to the next export of enriched uranium to Western nuclear power plants, there would be no catastrophe. In his opinion, one should rather expect “small temporary reduction in production” of energy.
Storing nuclear fuel provides peace of mind
“The advantage of nuclear energy Is ease of fuel storage – Lipka told PAP. – Most reactors have a year or even two of supplies on site.“.
According to the expert the Kremlin’s introduction of an embargo would even bring some benefit: would force the United States and the European Union to become more independent from Russian supplies. Currently, Russia imports uranium for 440 reactors in 33 nuclear-producing countries. According to estimates by the London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), nuclear-producing countries bought enriched uranium (and related services) in Russia last year for about USD 2.7 billion.
The West’s Dependence on Russian Uranium: A Historical Analysis
Cause the West’s dependence on Russian uranium was the price. As The New York Times explained last year, in the 1950s the United States enriched uranium using a gaseous diffusion process. The Soviet Union, however, “relying on a team of German physicists and engineers captured at the end of World War II, developed a method in which centrifuges were used that were 20 times more energy efficient than gaseous diffusion“. That is why at the end of the Cold War the United States and Russia had roughly the same enrichment capabilities, but production costs were shaped completely differently.
In 1993, Washington and Moscow signed an agreement under which the United States would buy and import for 30 years Russian Military Grade Uraniumused after being relegated as fuel in civilian power plants“The deal provided the United States with cheap fuel, Moscow with cash, and was seen as a de-escalation gesture. (…) At the same time, however, the agreement destroyed the profitability of inefficient American enrichment plants, which were eventually closed. Then, instead of investing in improved centrifuges in the United States, successive administrations bought uranium from Russia,” the newspaper said. Last year, about 20 percent of the enriched uranium used by the American energy sector came from state-owned Rosatom and its subsidiary Tenex.
The effects of the uranium embargo: Hungary and the problems with radiopharmaceuticals
According to Lipka, the country that would suffer the greatest losses if Russia stopped exporting uranium overnight would be Hungary, which has become completely dependent on supplies from Russia. In the event of such a decision, the real problem could become shortages in supplies of radiopharmaceuticals necessary for oncological therapy.
New US regulations banning uranium imports from Russia
In May this year, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law. banning the import of enriched uranium from RussiaThe measure, which went into effect in mid-August (a month before Vladimir Putin suggested curbs on uranium exports), was supported by both parties. After it was signed, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan declared, “It will help secure our energy sector for generations.” The bill will allocate about $2.7 billion to nuclear power.
British Low Enriched Uranium Development Program
In turn, London announced its own program in January this year, under which about 300 million pounds will be allocated to development of production of more efficient nuclear fuel – low enriched uranium (HALEU). (PAP)
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