16 kg of highly enriched uranium has been removed from Vietnam.

The United States and Russia participated in moving nearly 16 kg of highly enriched uranium out of Vietnam as part of a global campaign to reduce the use of nuclear fuel that can be used to make bombs, according to an announcement at a conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on July 2.

This move makes Vietnam the 11th country in the past four years to no longer possess highly enriched uranium. The information was announced at a meeting in Vienna, Austria, discussing ways to prevent components for making nuclear bombs from falling into the wrong hands, according to Reuters.

Da Lat Nuclear Reactor - Photo: Gia Binh

The highly enriched uranium, originating from Russia, was being held at the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute. The first shipment of uranium was returned to Russia six years ago, and the second shipment was made this month, according to Russia's ambassador to the IAEA, Grigory Berdennikov.

The amount of highly enriched uranium at the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute was more than half the material needed to build a rudimentary nuclear bomb. The IAEA and Canada also assisted in moving the uranium out of Vietnam, according to Reuters.

In April, the US and its allies also seized 68 kg of highly enriched uranium from the Czech Republic.

"With this achievement (in Vietnam), we will be removing almost all of the highly enriched uranium from Southeast Asia," said US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

According to Moniz, this material will be converted into low-enriched uranium for use in nuclear reactors.

Experts say there are currently about 1,440 tons of highly enriched uranium and 500 tons of plutonium stored and used in nuclear weapons worldwide. The majority of this is heavily guarded by the military, but some materials intended for civilian use are less tightly protected.

Experts note that extremist groups could theoretically create a rudimentary but deadly nuclear weapon if they had the money, technical knowledge, and necessary materials.

Since 2007, Vietnam has participated in the Da Lat Nuclear Reactor Fuel Conversion Program, transitioning from high-enriched to low-enriched fuel, an initiative of the IAEA, the US, and Russia aimed at managing high-enriched nuclear fuels used in research reactors worldwide manufactured by the US or Russia, preventing their use for non-peaceful purposes.

In September 2007, Vietnam completed the first phase of the program by returning 35 unused, high-enriched fuel rods from the Da Lat reactor to Russia and receiving 36 unused, low-enriched fuel rods manufactured by Russia.
In December 2010, Vietnam implemented the second phase of the program by receiving and transporting 66 low-enriched fuel rods to the Da Lat reactor to replace all the high-enriched fuel currently in use in the reactor.

The fuel rods manufactured in Russia and put into service in the 1980s had an enrichment level of 36%, while alternative fuel rods have an enrichment level below 20%.

In 2011, the physical and energy start-up of the Da Lat reactor with low-enrichment fuel was successfully completed.

16 kg of highly enriched uranium has been removed from Vietnam.

At 7:00 AM this morning (July 3), Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Nhi Dien, Director of the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute, announced that the return of 16 kg of highly enriched uranium from Vietnam has been completed.

Mr. Dien added that the handover of 16 kg of uranium to Russia was carried out in two phases: the first in 2007, and the second in the early morning of July 3rd at Bien Hoa Airport (Dong Nai).

A Russian military aircraft received the second batch of uranium and took off from the airport this morning. Thus, the return of highly enriched uranium from Vietnam has been completed as promised.

Sources from the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute said that the transportation of 16 kg of uranium out of Vietnam was completed this morning (July 3).

According to (TNO) - LT