NNSA Reports Progress in HEU Removal

By Manasi Kakatkar

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Oct. 7 that it had completely removed U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Germany as part of its Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI). With this action, the NNSA has so far removed all U.S.-origin HEU from a total of 16 countries. In 2008, material has been removed from Argentina, Portugal, and Romania.

HEU can be used to fuel nuclear reactors or serve as the fissile material for nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates that 25 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium is sufficient for a nuclear weapon.

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