DistantNews
IAEA confirms secure transfer of enriched uranium from Venezuela to US
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

IAEA confirms secure transfer of enriched uranium from Venezuela to US

From ABC Color · (1h ago) Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The IAEA confirmed its involvement in the secure transport of 13 kilograms of uranium enriched to over 20% from Venezuela to the United States.
  • The uranium, sourced from a disused research reactor at Venezuela's IVIC, was moved by land and sea under strict security measures involving the UK, US, and Venezuela.
  • This operation aims to reduce proliferation risks associated with highly enriched uranium in research reactors worldwide.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed its participation in a complex and delicate operation to transfer 13 kilograms of uranium enriched to just over 20% from Venezuela to the United States. This material originated from a research reactor at Venezuela's Scientific Research Institute (IVIC) that has been out of service since 1991.

En el marco de una operación compleja y delicada, los tres países implicados —el Reino Unido, Estados Unidos y Venezuela— y el OIEA colaboraron estrechamente para garantizar que la carga de 13 kilogramos de uranio altamente enriquecido fuera transportada de forma segura por tierra y mar desde Sudamérica hasta Norteamérica.

— IAEAThis quote describes the collaborative effort and secure transport of the enriched uranium.

The operation, which also involved authorities from the United Kingdom, saw the uranium transported by land and sea under stringent security protocols. A Venezuelan military convoy moved the material from IVIC, located southwest of Caracas, to the port city of Puerto Cabello. From there, a British ship carried the cargo to the United States, where it arrived in early May at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

El uranio, en forma de combustible nuclear enriquecido a poco más del 20% del isótopo fisionable uranio-235, fue sacado del reactor de investigación del IVIC, que estaba fuera de servicio desde 1991.

— EFEThis quote explains the nature and origin of the uranium material.

This transfer is part of a broader international effort, supported by the IAEA, to remove highly enriched uranium from research reactors globally. Such materials, while essential for scientific experiments conducted in reactors built decades ago, pose proliferation risks. The IAEA notes that many of these activities can now be performed using low-enriched uranium (LEU), which contains less than 20% of the fissile isotope uranium-235. The successful removal of this fuel means the Venezuelan reactor is now free of such material, enhancing global nuclear security.

Tras esta misión, ya no queda combustible en el reactor.

— IAEAThis quote confirms that the reactor is now free of the enriched uranium fuel.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog