U.S. Removes All Enriched Uranium from Venezuelan Reactor

The U.S. and its partners have completed the removal of all remaining enriched uranium from a legacy research reactor in Venezuela, the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration announced on Friday. The RV-1 reactor had supported physics and nuclear research for decades until that work ended in 1991.

At that point its uranium, enriched above 20 percent, became surplus material. Officials said a team from the NNSA's Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation worked with technical experts from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research to safely remove 13.5 kilograms, about 30 pounds, of the uranium.

The team packaged the material into a spent fuel cask while cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency throughout the process. They then escorted the cask 100 miles overland to a Venezuelan port and transferred it to a specialized carrier supplied by the U.K.'s Nuclear Transport Solutions.

The vessel delivered the material to the United States in early May. Upon arrival, teams transported the casks to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, near Augusta, Georgia. The DOE Office of Environmental Management took custody of the material at the site.

Technicians at the Savannah River Site will process the material at the H-Canyon chemical separations facility. The goal is to obtain high-assay low-enriched uranium for use in the United States. The entire operation, from removal to arrival, was completed in a matter of weeks.

Officials stated that the safe removal of all enriched uranium from Venezuela sends a signal of a restored and renewed relationship between the two countries. The announcement comes months after a U.S. military operation in early January that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The removal follows Venezuela's resumption of commercial ties with the United States. Oil exports from Venezuela have reached a seven-year high of 1.23 million barrels per day. American Airlines has also resumed direct flights to Miami from Caracas.