UN Atom fuel Bank.

UN body to set up atom fuel bank backed by Buffett
Sat, Dec 4 01:22 AM

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Enlarge Photo A woman enters the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters at the UN premises in... Member states of the U.N. nuclear watchdog approved on Friday a U.S.-backed fuel supply plan aimed at preventing the spread of atom bombs as more countries seek nuclear power, despite misgivings among some developing states.

Its adoption was a priority for the Obama administration, which has set itself an ambitious nuclear disarmament agenda, and it comes at a time when the new START atomic arms reduction pact with Russia faces an uncertain future in the U.S. Senate.

Under the delayed scheme, part-financed by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would run a reserve of low-enriched uranium (LEU) which countries could turn to if their regular supplies were cut.

Proponents say it could help meet growing demand from dozens of countries, some in the conflict-prone Middle East, for technical help in launching nuclear energy programmes without increasing the risk of weapons proliferation.

The fuel bank is "a very important step in (Obama's) vision of moving the world towards a world without nuclear weapons," said Glyn Davies, the U.S. envoy to the IAEA.

It would help countries "access peaceful nuclear energy for peaceful purposes", he told reporters, after the 35-nation governing IAEA board approved the plan with 28 votes for, six abstentions and one absentee.

The uranium needed to fuel nuclear reactors can also be enriched to high levels and provide material for bombs, making such fuel cycle technology especially sensitive.

Iran's disputed enrichment programme, which the West fears is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, has also pushed the idea up the agenda after decades on the political back-burner.

But some developing states are concerned it may limit their right to sovereign nuclear energy capabilities, even if Western diplomats say this would not be the case.

They raised a number of technical and economic questions during the debate, saying more work was needed on the plan.

URANIUM SHORTAGE?

The proposal by former IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei for a fuel bank, possibly located in Kazakhstan, proposes buying 60-80 tonnes of LEU using $150 million in donations from member states and others and offering it to states at market prices.

By assuring supplies of nuclear fuel, it seeks to help states to develop civilian nuclear energy programmes without the need to also develop their own uranium enrichment capabilities.

Countries under investigation by the IAEA over suspicions regarding their nuclear activities, currently Iran and Syria, would not be able to access the fuel reserve. The IAEA's director general would have the final say on who could use it.

The U.S. non-governmental Nuclear Threat Initiative had pledged $50 million to help set it up, with the funds provided by Buffett, one of the world's most successful investors who has donated a vast chunk of his fortune to charity.

"It will be a pleasure to write a cheque for funds that will help reduce global dangers," Buffett said in a statement.

The IAEA has been mulling several plans under which states would be provided with enriched uranium for their civilian nuclear programmes if their deliveries were halted for political reasons and they can show a perfect non-proliferation record.

Its board last year backed a complementary offer by major uranium producer Russia to host such a facility, where the IAEA would monitor and control supply.

Western diplomats stress the fuel reserve would only be used if necessary and it would not replace commercial suppliers.

Some analysts forecast a uranium shortage in 2013 due to increased demand from China, India and elsewhere.  (Editing by Jon Hemming)
(yahoo news)
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