Multilateralization of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle A Long Road Ahead

152 Pages·2011·3.89 MB·English

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The world continues to wrestle with the dual nature of nuclear energy. The tera
proliferation risks stemming from the spread of sensitive technologies point liz
to the need for a multilateral approach to the nuclear fuel cycle. Taking the atio
dangerous aspects of nuclear energy out of national hands and placing them n
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This book presents two studies. The first provides a historical overview cle
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the nuclear fuel cycle using Eastern and South-Eastern Asia as a case study. l C
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UNITED
NATIONS
INSTITUTE
FOR
DISARMAMENT
RESEARCH
Multilateralization of
the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
A Long Road Ahead
USD 20
ISBN 978-92-9-045201-0 UN
IT
Designed and printed by the Publishing Service, United Nations, Geneva ED
GE.11-01140 — August 2011 — 1,950 — UNIDIR/2011/5 N
A
UnitedS aNleast iNonos. GPuVb.Eli.c1a1t.i0o.4n TION Yury Yudin
E-ISBN 978-92-1-055069-7 S
UNIDIR/2011/5
Multilateralization of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

A Long Road Ahead
Yury Yudin
UNIDIR
United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
Geneva, Switzerland
New York and Geneva, 2011
About the cover
Reception of a transport cask for spent nuclear fuel at Svensk
Kärnbränslehantering AB’s Canister Laboratory in Oskarshamn,
Sweden.
Photograph courtesy of Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB.
Photograph by Curt-Robert Lindqvist © SKB 2005.
NOTE
The designations employed and the presentation of the material
in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion
whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations
concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area,
or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers
or boundaries.
*
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The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility
of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views or
opinions of the United Nations, UNIDIR, its staff members or
sponsors.
UNIDIR/2011/5
Copyright © United Nations, 2011
All rights reserved
UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS
Sales No. GV.E.11.0.4
ISBN 978-92-9045-201-0
eISBN 978-92-1-055069-7
The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)—an
autonomous institute within the United Nations—conducts research on
disarmament and security. UNIDIR is based in Geneva, Switzerland, the
centre for bilateral and multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation
negotiations, and home of the Conference on Disarmament. The Institute
explores current issues pertaining to the variety of existing and future
armaments, as well as global diplomacy and local tensions and conflicts.
Working with researchers, diplomats, government officials, NGOs and
other institutions since 1980, UNIDIR acts as a bridge between the
research community and governments. UNIDIR’s activities are funded by
contributions from governments and donor foundations. The Institute’s
web site can be found at:
www.unidir.org

CONTENTs
Acknowledgements ........................................................................ ix
About the author .......................................................................... xi
Foreword ...................................................................................... xiii
Introduction .................................................................................. 1
Part I
Multilateralization of the fuel cycle: history and prospects 7
The nuclear renaissance and the
international non-proliferation regime ........................................... 9
Nuclear renaissance ................................................................ 9
Driving factors ................................................................ 10
Obstacles ....................................................................... 12
The current situation ...................................................... 13
The impact of Fukushima Daiichi ................................... 14
Nuclear power and the non-proliferation regime ................... 16
Existing international mechanisms ................................... 16
Need for new institutional mechanisms .......................... 21
Multilateral approaches: past and present ..................................... 25
Earlier efforts towards multilateralization ................................ 25
Current status of multilateralization proposals ........................ 28
Support from supplier states ........................................... 32
Opposition from non-supplier states ............................... 35
The IAEA position ........................................................... 37
Political obstacles to multilateralization ......................................... 39
Appeal of national nuclear capability ..................................... 39
Legacy of exclusiveness and coerciveness .............................. 41
Lack of clarity on multilateralization and the alternatives ........ 43
Need for coordinated political action ..................................... 44
v
vi
Integrating multilateral arrangements
into existing cooperation mechanisms ........................................... 47
The right to peaceful use of nuclear energy
and multilateralization .................................................... 47
Voluntary multilateral arrangements ....................................... 50
Fuel supply assurances .................................................... 50
Front-end multilateral facilities ........................................ 51
Back-end arrangements .................................................. 52
Bilateral nuclear cooperation agreements
and multilateralization .................................................... 53
Technical and legal issues ....................................................... 55
Eligibility ........................................................................ 56
Location of facilities ........................................................ 58
Technology sharing and protection ................................. 61
Conclusions ........................................................................... 63
Part II
Prospects for multilateralization in
Eastern and south-Eastern Asia 67
Opportunities for nuclear cooperation
in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia .................................................. 69
Regional survey on multilateral fuel cycle approaches ................... 75
Collected responses to Part I .................................................. 76
Overview of responses to Part I .............................................. 85
Responses to Part II ................................................................ 85
Proposals 1–4: reserves of low enriched uranium ........... 86
Proposals 5 and 6: additional guarantees
provided by existing suppliers .................................. 87
Proposals 7 and 8: IAEA-administered multinational
enrichment and reprocessing facilities ..................... 89
Proposals 9 and 10: regional multinational
enrichment facilities ................................................ 89
Proposal 11: regional multinational
reprocessing facilities ............................................... 91
Proposal 12: nuclear fuel leasing and take-back offers .... 91
Proposals 13–16: multilateral interim storage and
long-term disposal of spent fuel and nuclear waste .. 92
vii
Proposals 17 and 18: converting all future and
existing sensitive fuel-cycle facilities to
multilateral operations ............................................. 94
Back-end mechanisms versus front-end mechanisms .............. 95
Regional versus global proposals ............................................ 95
Non-respondents ................................................................... 96
Conclusions ........................................................................... 99
Annex A
The current proposals for multilateral approaches ......................... 103
Annex B
Questionnaire on multilateralization of the nuclear fuel cycle ........ 112
Annex C
Existing and projected state nuclear power programmes
in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia .................................................. 118
Notes ............................................................................................ 123
Abbreviations ................................................................................ 135

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to give special thanks to Bruno Pellaud and
Lawrence Scheinman who provided useful comments on early drafts of
the manuscript.
Thanks also to the UNIDIR staff for their support and advice. Thanks to
Theresa Hitchens and Kerstin Vignard for their practical, administrative
and managerial advice. Thanks to Jason Powers, who provided excellent
editorial assistance, and to Anita Blétry for production assistance. Thanks
to Anna Stockklauser who communicated with Permanent Missions in
Geneva concerning the questionnaire and who drafted a substantial
portion of Part II of this publication. Thanks to Ting-Fung Chan and
Fabian Froehlich who provided assistance at the final stage of drafting the
manuscript.
UNIDIR would like to specially thank all respondents to the questionnaire.
Finally, the Institute wishes to thank the Governments of Austria, the
Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Sweden, the United Arab
Emirates and the United Kingdom, and the Taipei Cultural and Economic
Delegation in Geneva, for having generously funded the project Multilateral
Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle.
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