USEC and new nuclear power plants

December 16, 2004 04:58 PM US Eastern Timezone USEC Calls on Government, Industry to Construct New Generation of Power Plants to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons Material BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2004--

'Isaiah Project' Could Eliminate Thousands of Nuclear Warheads Worldwide; Project Would Build on Successful Megatons to Megawatts Program

Stating that the existing international regime to combat nuclear proliferation does not fully address current problems, USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU) offered several proposals to improve the regime and make the world more secure. At the core of USEC's solution was a proposal for the U.S. government and the nuclear power industry to work together to construct a new generation of power plants fueled by recycled weapons-grade uranium.
USEC Senior Vice President Philip G. Sewell delivered the Company's call to action at yesterday's gathering of international policy leaders and government officials in Alexandria, Virginia. Sewell told the International Nuclear Materials Policy Forum that USEC has advanced a proposal to better manage weapons-grade material by, in effect, eliminating it. This approach, Sewell pointed out, "is immeasurably safer and more cost-effective than safeguarding it."
Dubbed "The Isaiah Project," USEC's proposal is a partnership between government and the private sector to accelerate the construction of a new generation of advanced nuclear power plants, fueled entirely or partially by fuel derived from weapons-grade uranium.
Sewell said the Isaiah Project "would build on the solid, demonstrated success of the Megatons to Megawatts program," a 20-year initiative by the U.S. and Russian governments to recycle 500 metric tons of Russian nuclear warhead material into fuel used by U.S. nuclear power plants to generate electricity. This material is equivalent to 20,000 nuclear warheads. To date, the program has eliminated more than 9,000 warheads, at no cost to taxpayers. USEC is the executive agent implementing this program on behalf of the U.S. government.
Isaiah Project Has Potential to Eliminate Thousands of Warheads Worldwide
U.S. government support for the Isaiah Project would help secure a commitment by the private sector to build one or more new nuclear power plants. This support could come in the form of the government providing excess weapons-grade uranium to be blended down into fuel for one or more Isaiah reactors.
Construction of a single new Isaiah reactor could facilitate the elimination of 100 nuclear warheads just from the initial fueling, Sewell said. Over the projected lifetime of an Isaiah reactor, the equivalent of about 2,000 nuclear warheads could be eliminated.
Sewell said the Isaiah Project should be able to attract U.S. government support because it would enhance domestic energy security; help mitigate global warming through the construction of new nuclear power plants, which do not emit any greenhouse gases; and provide enhanced global security by eliminating nuclear weapons material. "That's a triple success," he said.
U.S. action to build Isaiah reactors could also stimulate other nuclear weapon states to institute their own Isaiah reactor programs, thereby multiplying the benefits worldwide, and leading to the potential elimination of thousands of nuclear warheads.
Sewell said USEC is actively exploring methods to advance the concept. "We are serious about this," Sewell said. "We are committed to advancing this effort."
The complete text of Sewell's speech can be found in the News Room section of USEC's website, www.USEC.com.
USEC Inc., a global energy company, is the world's leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
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