Safe Recovery of Nuclear Materials
In 2008, the NNSA, in cooperation with Russia and other agencies, helped transport 341 pounds of enriched uranium in 13 radiation proof casks weighing 17,000 lb (7,700 kg) apiece from Budapest to Siberia. In late September 2008 the casks were secretly loaded onto trucks at the Budapest facility and then taken to the city's train station, where it was transported onto a special train for an eight-hour trip to the port of Koper in Slovenia on the Adriatic Sea.
The shipments then moved through the Mediterranean, through the Strait of Gibraltar, up the Atlantic and into the English Channel, the North and Norwegian seas and then on to Murmansk. From there the shipment was loaded on a train for the long trip to Siberia.
This operation was conducted by American and Russian officials to ensure the safe disposal of the radioactive uranium that is highly enriched and weapons-grade. The Hungarian reactor is now being converted to use low-enriched uranium that cannot be used in a weapon and will not be a potential terrorist target.
Read more about this topic: National Nuclear Security Administration
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