Screaming Skull
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New Delhi, April 14: Russia has offered India the option of participating in its International Uranium Enrichment Centre (IUEC) at Angarsk, Siberia as a means of securing guaranteed fuel supplies in the future.
This was communicated to a visiting Indian delegation to Russia, headed by the Atomic Energy Commission Chairman, Dr Anil Kakodkar, on April 9.
The offer, made during deliberations between the two sides, includes investment possibilities for India in the IUEC, which is being set up under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision, sources said. The investments could be considered in lieu of India paying for nuclear fuel to be supplied to the Russian-built Koodankulam Light Water Reactor units and to existing Indian pressurised heavy water reactor units that are to be fuelled by Russian firm TVEL under a bilateral pact.
The enrichment centre is being set up by Russia for supply of uranium to countries with nuclear energy programmes under the IAEA safeguards. Russia is establishing the project in collaboration with countries such as Kazakhstan under the supervision of the nuclear watchdog at the Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant in Eastern Siberia.
The Indian delegation visited the Angarsk Plant, which hosts the IUEC, and nuclear fuel supplier TVEL’s JSC Novosibirsky Chemical Concentrates Plant. According to sources, the Director of Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant, Mr Alexander Belousov, made a pitch for India to invest in the IUEC project. The participation by India in the project, he said, would tackle the problem of guaranteed nuclear fuel supply to ensure safe and reliable operation of the Indian nuclear sector, according to sources.
Proposals regarding joint fundamental research were also discussed during the talks. Dr S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, and Mr R. Gupta, Uranium Corporation of India Ltd chief, were also part of the Indian delegation.
Earlier, at the delegation level talks between India and Russia during the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s Moscow visit in 2007, the Russians had indicated at the possibility of India investing in the proposed centre. Subsequently, however, there were reports of a rethink within the Russian government on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty membership being considered as a prerequisite for IUEC participation.
The Angarsk facility has traditionally been associated with Russian civilian nuclear programme and had been kept completely out of the erstwhile Soviet Union’s atomic weapons plan, thereby, making it easier for the plant to be put under IAEA control.
The enrichment centre would produce only low-enriched uranium, which cannot be diverted for building nuclear weapons. Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel for nuclear power plants, but higher levels of enrichment make it possible to divert the fuel for the construction of the core of a nuclear bomb.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/04/15/stories/2009041551580100.htm
