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Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Expert Group Report to the Director General of the IAEA MULTILATERAL APPROACHES to the NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE

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Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Expert Group Report to the Director General of the IAEA MULTILATERAL APPROACHES to the NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Expert Group Report to the Director General of the IAEA MULTILATERAL APPROACHES TO THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE EXPERT GROUP REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY The report of the Expert Group was officially released on 22 February 2005 as an IAEA Information Circular (INFCIRC/640), and circulated for discussion among IAEA Member States, as well as others. This version of the Expert Group's report has been published by the IAEA for the benefit of a wider audience. MULTILATERAL APPROACHES TO THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE EXPERT GROUP REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2005 COPYRIGHT NOTICE All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and will be considered on a case by case basis. Enquiries should be addressed by email to the Publishing Section, IAEA, at [email protected] or by post to: Sales and Promotion Unit, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramer Strasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna Austria fax: +43 1 2600 29302 tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 http://www.iaea.org/Publications/index.html © IAEA, 2005 Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in this publication may be obtained by writing to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. Printed by the IAEA in Austria April 2005 MNA/2005 FOREWORD by Mohamed ElBaradei Director General In recent years the nuclear non-proliferation regime has come under increasing strain owing to the growth in both the supply of and demand for proliferation sensitive technology and the production and availability of nuclear materials. As a result, international discussions on this subject have emphasized the urgent need to strengthen the regime. At the March 2004 meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, I stated my intention to convene a group of experts to explore options and develop proposals for improved controls, including possible multilateral oversight arrangements of the nuclear fuel cycle. In my view, the work of such a group could be an important contribution in developing practical proposals to minimize the proliferation risks of sensitive portions of the nuclear fuel cycle, thus facilitating the continued use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In June 2004, I informed the Board of Governors that I had appointed an international expert group, chaired by Mr. Bruno Pellaud, former IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, to consider options for possible multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle. The terms of reference for the Expert Group were to: •Identify and provide an analysis of issues and options relevant to multi- lateral approaches to the front and back ends of the nuclear fuel cycle; •Provide an overview of the policy, legal, security, economic and techno- logical incentives and disincentives for cooperation in multilateral arrangements for the front and back ends of the nuclear fuel cycle; and •Provide a brief review of the historical and current experience in this area, and of the various analyses relating to multilateral fuel cycle arrangements relevant to the work of the Expert Group. The Expert Group comprised individuals with practical experience in the nuclear field drawn from 26 States. The Group examined the nuclear fuel cycle and multinational approaches at meetings convened over a seven month period. Their report was released on 22 February 2005, and circulated for discussion among the IAEA’s Member States, as well as others, as an IAEA Information Circular (INFCIRC/640). I am pleased to present this report to a wider audience. In particular, I hope that it will increase awareness of this important subject and stimulate a wide ranging discussion of the issues that have been raised leading to practical proposals for the next steps. EDITORIAL NOTE This report has been edited by the editorial staff of the IAEA to the extent considered necessary for the reader’s assistance. The views expressed remain, however, the responsibility of the Expert Group. This report does not address questions of responsibility, legal or otherwise, for acts or omissions on the part of any person. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the IAEA, the governments of the nominating Member States or the nominating organizations. Although great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of information contained in this publication, neither the IAEA nor its Member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from its use. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. CONTENTS Executive Summary . 1 Overview of Options . 3 Overarching Issues. 8 Multilateral Nuclear Approaches: The Future. 13 Five Suggested Approaches . 15 1. Preamble . 17 Background . 17 Mandate . 18 Preliminary Considerations . 20 2. Current Political Context . 24 3. Historical Perspective . 29 4. Cross-Cutting Factors . 34 Advances in Nuclear Technologies . 34 Economics . 38 Assurances of Supply. 39 Legal and Institutional Factors. 44 Non-Proliferation and Security Factors. 48 5. Multilateral Options for Technologies. 52 Elements of Assessment . 53 Key elements . 53 Other elements . 54 Uranium Enrichment . 56 Technologies . 56 Historical background . 60 Current status. 62 Economics . 66 Assurance of services . 66 Legal and institutional factors . 67 Non-proliferation and security . 69 Options for multilateral approaches for enrichment . 70 Spent Fuel Reprocessing . 75 Technologies . 76 Historical background . 78 Current status. 79 Economics . 81 Assurance of services . 83 Legal and institutional factors . 85 Non-proliferation and security factors. 86 Options for multilateral approaches for reprocessing . 87 Spent Fuel Repositories (Final Disposal) . 92 Technologies . 92 Historical background . 93 Current status. 95 Economics . 96 Assurance of services . 98 Legal and institutional factors . 99 Non-proliferation and security factors. 100 Options for final repositories of spent fuel . 101 Spent Fuel Storage (Intermediate) . 107 Technologies . 108 Historical background . 109 Current status. 109 Economics . 110 Assurance of services . 111 Legal and institutional factors . 111 Non-proliferation and security factors. 113 Options for multilateral spent fuel storage . 113 Overview of Options . 119 Uranium enrichment. 120 Reprocessing. 121 Spent fuel disposal. 122 Fuel storage. 123 Combined option: Fuel leasing–fuel take-back. 124 Other options . 125 6. Overarching Issues. ..
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