Highly enriched uranium (HEU) politics: An enigma wrapped up in a warhead and boxed in political chaos

Journal Article · Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · NUKEM Market Report; (United States)

OSTI ID:7170155

It could be fairly said that while the Cold War arose in an atmosphere of mutual mistrust and hostility, it is ending with an equal amount of confusion and uncertainty. More than a year has passed since the US and Russia signed a tentative HEU agreement in August 1992. Many of the details have been worked out, but major questions remain. And they're not just on the Russian side. The fine points of President Clinton's overall nuclear policy are only now beginning to emerge. In his first major foreign policy address, before the United Nations in late September, Clinton called for a worldwide ban on the production of plutonium and HEU for nuclear weapons. [open quotes]Growing global stockpiles of plutonium and highly enriched uranium are raising the danger of nuclear terrorism for all nations,[close quotes] said Clinton before the UN. [open quotes]We will press for an international agreement that would ban production of these materials for weapons forever.[close quotes] As the veil lifts from Clinton's nuclear policy, it appears the Administration realizes that Russia may have more HEU than originally thought. That possibility has been confirmed by Minatom Minister Mikhailov's disclosures to the NUKEM Market Report, which brought a greater degree of certainty to estimates that had been floating around for some time. When the Bush Administration signed the HEU pact, it apparently thought the 500 metric tons comprised most of the former Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal. Now that the number appears higher, Clinton may propose to accelerate and enlarge the HEU deal. He is due to summit with Yeltsin, if Yeltsin survives, next spring. The 500-metric-ton deal may only be the first step.

• OSTI ID: 7170155
• Journal Information: NUKEM Market Report; (United States), Journal Name: NUKEM Market Report; (United States)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM
POLITICAL ASPECTS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
ARMS CONTROL
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
STOCKPILES
USSR
ACTINIDES
AGREEMENTS
ASIA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ELEMENTS
ENRICHED URANIUM
EUROPE
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
ISOTOPE ENRICHED MATERIALS
MATERIALS
METALS
URANIUM
WEAPONS
290600* - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy
055002 - Nuclear Fuels- Safeguards
Inspection
& Accountability- Nontechnical Aspects