Institute for Science and International Security
In 1998, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published Guidelines for the Management of Plutonium (INFCIRC/549). These guidelines, agreed to by the five declared nuclear weapon states, plus Belgium, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland, increase the transparency of the management of civil plutonium by publishing annual statements of each country's holdings of civil plutonium. Although the annual publication of civil holdings has been successful overall in creating more transparency, the declarations by several countries are incomplete. In addition, more countries possessing civil plutonium need to be involved, with the goal to create universal membership and adherence.
Background
In December 1992 the IAEA initiated a series of meetings involving those countries with the largest civil plutonium holdings in order to determine the necessity of international methods of managing plutonium.1 These countries were concerned about the increasing amounts of civil separated plutonium and the large quantities of fissile material that was expected to result from the dismantling of nuclear weapons. One year later, the IAEA convened an unofficial study of ways to manage plutonium. Participants decided that the countries with separated plutonium stocks would agree to methods of plutonium management among themselves rather than to have the IAEA act as mediator. (However, the IAEA has provided a place to meet and published the guidelines and annual declarations.)
The nine countries listed above reached agreement in late 1997 on norms for responsible government management of inventories of separated, unirradiated plutonium. The guidelines and the first declarations were published in March 1998.
In principle, the guidelines cover all plutonium in all peaceful nuclear activities, but focus on the material that poses the most proliferation concern. The guidelines thus cover separated plutonium in storage, in unirradiated mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel elements, in other unirradiated fabricated forms, and in the course of manufacture or fabrication into these items. Although plutonium in spent fuel is not the focus of these guidelines, each country has agreed to publish annual estimates of the amount of plutonium in its spent nuclear fuel. The guidelines also cover plutonium declared excess to military nuclear programs.
The guidelines do not cover plutonium that is more than 80 percent plutonium 238, plutonium used in gram quantities, or plutonium on which IAEA safeguards have been terminated or exempted. They do not apply to the management of highly enriched uranium (HEU), but they do recognize the need to manage HEU with the same vigilance as separated plutonium.
The guidelines express agreement that civil plutonium should be handled in accordance with major nonproliferation treaties; international agreements or conventions on safety, physical protection, material accountancy and control, and safeguards; and rules on international transfers of civil plutonium.2 The countries also agreed to formulate national strategies on plutonium management, which will consider the risks of proliferation, especially during storage before irradiation or permanent disposal; the need to protect the environment, workers and the public; and the resource value of the material. This strategies are also to take into account the importance of balancing supply and demand, in essence trying to minimize the amount of separated or unirradiated plutonium as soon as practical.
A major accomplishment of these guidelines is the agreement by each of these nine nations to publish:
The Declarations
When the Guidelines for the Management of Plutonium were published in the spring of 1998, eight of the nine countries provided declarations of their plutonium holdings as of the end of 1996. A few also provided holdings as of the end of 1995. Only Russia did not provide information on its holdings. In September 1998, Russia provided the IAEA with its holdings as of July 1, 1996.
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| - | |||||||||
| Was INFCIRC/549 declaration for 1996 submitted to the IAEA as of September 17, 1999? | |||||||||
| INFCIRC/549, Annex B | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1. Unirradiated separated plutonium in product stores at reprocessing plants. | |||||||||
| 2. Unirradiated separated plutonium in the course of manufacture or fabrication and plutonium contained in unirradiated semi-fabricated or unfinished products at fuel or other fabricating plants or elsewhere. | |||||||||
| 3. Plutonium contained in unirradiated MOX fuel or other fabricated products at reactor sites or elsewhere. | |||||||||
| 4. Unirradiated separated plutonium held elsewhere. | |||||||||
| Note: | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| i. Plutonium included in lines 1-4 above belonging to foreign bodies. | |||||||||
| ii. Plutonium in any of the forms in lines 1-4 above held in locations in other countries, therefore not included above. | |||||||||
| iii. Plutonium included in lines 1-4 above which is in international shipment prior to its arrival in the recipient State. |
| Notes and Comments |
| (a) All quantities in tonnes. The term “not submitted” is used here to indicate that a declaration was left blank; recorded as a “--” or as “not communicated;” or otherwise not reported to the IAEA. |
| (b) In annex C, declarations of the amount of plutonium contained in spent civil reactor fuel, Switzerland declared that it had 6 tonnes of plutonium contained in spent fuel sent for reprocessing and held in locations in other countries. Switzerland reported that this plutonium may be in the form of spent fuel or in any of the separated forms listed in this table. |
| (c) Belgium reported a “--” in 1996. This was changed to a “0” in 1997. |
Table 1 above lists the declarations for plutonium holdings in 1996. As can be seen, most submissions are relatively complete. However, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Russia did not provide information about their holdings of foreign-owned plutonium or the amounts of their plutonium held overseas. Although holdings of plutonium contained in spent fuel are not included in table 1, Germany did not provide information about the amount of plutonium in its spent fuel.
Table 2 below lists declared holdings at the end of 1997. Russia and China had not declared their holdings for this date, as of late 1999. In addition, the United States did not do so until mid-September 1999. Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland again omitted information on holdings of foreign-owned plutonium and the amounts held in other countries.
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| -- | |||||||||
| Was INFCIRC/549 declaration for 1996 submitted to the IAEA as of September 17, 1999? | |||||||||
| INFCIRC/549, Annex B | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1. Unirradiated separated plutonium in product stores at reprocessing plants. | |||||||||
| 2. Unirradiated separated plutonium in the course of manufacture or fabrication and plutonium contained in unirradiated semi-fabricated or unfinished products at fuel or other fabricating plants or elsewhere. | |||||||||
| 3. Plutonium contained in unirradiated MOX fuel or other fabricated products at reactor sites or elsewhere. | |||||||||
| 4. Unirradiated separated plutonium held elsewhere. | |||||||||
| Note: | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| i. Plutonium included in lines 1-4 above belonging to foreign bodies. | |||||||||
| ii. Plutonium in any of the forms in lines 1-4 above held in locations in other countries, therefore not included above. | |||||||||
| iii. Plutonium included in lines 1-4 above which is in international shipment prior to its arrival in the State. |
| Notes and Comments |
| (a) All quantities in tonnes. The term “not submitted” is used here to indicate that a declaration was left blank; recorded as a “--” or as “not communicated;” or otherwise not reported to the IAEA. |
| (b) In Annex C, declarations of the amount of plutonium contained in spent civil reactor fuel, Switzerland declared that it had 5 tonnes of plutonium contained in spent fuel sent for reprocessing and held in locations in other countries. Switzerland reported that this plutonium may be in the form of spent fuel or in any of the separated forms listed in this table. |
| (c) (1) and (ii) were declared in the 1998 White Paper on Nuclear Energy, published by the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan, August 31, 1998. All categories were declared in Japan’s INFCIRC/549 declaration of December 31, 1998. |
The situation for 1998 improved in the sense that the IAEA received all the declarations by the end of 1999. However, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland continued to submit incomplete declarations. Table 3 below shows the situation as of January 2000.