William Jefferson Clinton
President of the United States of America
Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
cc: Albert Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States of America
Dear Presidents Clinton and Putin,
As a contribution to permanent arms reduction and disarmament, the United States and Russia have declared about 50 tons each of military plutonium surplus to their requirements. It is generally acknowledged that this commendable step must be followed by measures to put this plutonium into a form that cannot easily be diverted or reused in weapons.
There are several proposals that have been discussed and studied in the last many years in both governmental and NGO circles as to how this problem is to be addressed. The plan that the US and Russian governments have been negotiating involves the conversion of most of this plutonium into a mixed oxide (MOX fuel) for use in commercial nuclear power reactors, mainly light water reactors, in both Russia and the United States. The use of Canadian reactors is also being considered as an option.
This proposal has many drawbacks. It raises many unresolved safety questions and could increase the risk and severity of nuclear reactor accidents. Unless steps are taken to militarize security at these nuclear power plants, the risk of diversion of weapons grade plutonium will increase with time.
We believe that the other option of immobilization of plutonium, which Russia and the US have adopted for only a small proportion of the plutonium, should be extended to cover the full amount. This is a safer, faster, and more economically efficient option. It involves putting plutonium into a non-weapons usable form by mixing it with other materials and making the resultant waste form proliferation resistant. The MOX option should be discarded.
A considerable amount of discussion has also revolved around the financing of the Russian portion of the plutonium disposition plan. This is because Russia has agreed to the current plan, which is dominated by the use of MOX in light water nuclear power reactors, largely at the suggestion of the West. One financing plan has been put forward by a US corporation known as the Non-proliferation Trust, Inc. This would involve importation of up to 10,000 metric tons of foreign spent nuclear power reactor fuel for storage in Russia, a complete halt to commercial reprocessing, and a payment to Russia for building storage facilities, a nuclear waste repository and other purposes. Such a plan is currently illegal under Russian law and hence attempts are being made to amend the law. However, the Russian people are overwhelmingly opposed to such a plan, as is demonstrated by polling and by the firm opposition of environmental NGOs in Russia. Many US NGOs and those in other countries also oppose this plan.
In recognition of the reality that a plutonium disposition plan is needed, we, the undersigned, would like to offer the following proposal based on immobilization.
- The same disposition plan in terms of the disposition technical details would be carried out in parallel in the United States and Russia.
- It would include all separated commercial and surplus military plutonium.
- Reprocessing of commercial spent fuel would be halted.
- All separated commercial plutonium in US and Russian stocks, as well as all surplus military plutonium would be immobilized. There would be some flexibility regarding the specific immobilization method.
- The immobilized plutonium of each country would be stored in that country and put under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
- The West would lease Russia’s plutonium for 50 years or would purchase it outright. Since plutonium has no commercial value as a fuel, some means has to be found to determine the price to be paid for the non-proliferation benefit. Since Russia regards plutonium as a potentially valuable fuel, the upper limit to the purchase price would be the value of the fuel normally used in light water reactors – low enriched uranium (LEU) – equivalent of the MOX that could be made out of the plutonium disregarding all fuel fabrication costs or any other additional costs associated with the use of MOX. In other words, the maximum amount Russia would be paid would correspond to the LEU fuel value as if the plutonium had already been made into MOX.
- The payments to Russia could be stretched out over a time period comparable to the deal that Russia and the United States have made for the purchase of surplus Russian military highly enriched uranium-that is about 20 years-or to the time that it takes to immobilize the plutonium and to put it under IAEA safeguards.
- The West would also pay for the immobilization of plutonium in Russia (in addition to the payment described in Item 6 above).
- There are a number of ways in which this plutonium disposition plan could be financed. For instance: (1) The G-7, as the group of wealthy western countries is known, could fund it. (2) The European Union could create a Russian plutonium fund. (3) A small tax on natural gas imported from Russia into Europe could finance the plan. (4) The United States could supply part of the funds as the wealthier party to the agreement. (5) NATO could earmark funds for the plan, since this will enhance security for all its members. These financing mechanisms are not mutually exclusive.
In view of the widespread concerns relating to the use of MOX fuel in reactors, and the liabilities that it entails, we urge you not to adopt a plutonium disposition plan that includes the use of MOX but rather to endorse this alternative. We want to thank you for the time and consideration that you have given to this letter and wish you success in your deliberations.
(Read the letter На русском языке / In Russian)
Sincerely,
Janine Allis-Smith
Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment
England
Vivek Ananthan
Center for Creative Activities
Volunteers for International Solidarity
Philadelphia, PA USA
Didier Anger
Comité de Réflexion, d’Information et de Lutte Anti-Nucléaire
Les Pieux, France
Liz Apfelberg
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
San Luis Obispo, CA
Kaitlin Backlund
Executive Director
Citizen Alert
Nevada, USA
Hideyuki Ban
Co-Director
Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center
Tokyo, Japan
Kathryn A. Barnes
Sherwood, MI
Mavis Belisle
Peace Farm
Amarillo, TX
Carol Bellin,
South Bend, IN
Robert L Benner
St Francis, WI
Frieda Berryhill
Chairman
Coalition for Nuclear Power Postponement
Wilmington DE
Patricia Birnie
GE Stockholders’ Alliance
Tucson, AZ
Susan Bloomfield, Nuclear Issues Chair
Frank Carl, Group Chair
Sierra Club, Savannah River Group
Kate Coburn Boniske
Program Chair
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
Arden, N.C.
Deborah L. Bors
Baltimore, MD
Jacques Boucher
Centre de ressources sur la non-violence
Montreal (Quebec), Canada
Fred Brailey
Ontario, Canada
Buffalo Bruce
Western Nebraska Resources Council
Donald Burch III
Washington, DC
Nancy Burton, Esq.
Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone
Mystic CT
Mary Byrd Davis
Director
Yggdrasil Institute
Paris, France
Paxus Calta
International Campaigner
Nuclear Information and Resources Service
Louisa, VA
Tom Camara
Mill Valley, CA
Corrine Carey
Don’t Waste Michigan
Grand Rapids, MI
Dave Chappell
Penryn, CA
Dr. D.K. Cinquemani
Largo, FL
Jay Coghlan
Director
Nuclear Watch of New Mexico
Santa Fe, NM
Norm Cohen
Executive Director
Coalition for Peace and Justice and the UNPLUG Salem Campaign
Linwood, NJ
George Crocker
Executive Director
North American Water Office
Lake Elmo MN
Kay Cumbow
Board Member
Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination
Lake Station, MI
Lezlie Dalton
New York, New York
Steve Daniels, M.D.
Santa Barbara, CA
Bob Darby
Tom Ferguson
Food Not Bombs
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Mirabel Deming
Janesville, WI
Scott Denman
Executive Director
SECC
Washington DC, USA
Bruce A Drew
Steering Committee
Prairie Island Coalition
Minneapolis MN
Sigrid Economou
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Ed Evans
Cypress, California
Alyson Ewald
Sacred Earth Network
Petersham, MA
Solange Fernex
President
WILPF, France (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom),
Paris, France
Joan Flynn
Ft. Tilden NY
Tom Fusco
Brunswick, ME
Ruth Gabey
West Gardiner, ME
Richard Geary
Oklahoma City, OK
L.J. Glicenstein
Corresponding Secretary
Central Pennsylvania Citizens for Survival
State College, PA
Susan Gordon
Executive Director
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
Seattle, WA and Washington, DC
Athanasia Gregoriades
New York, NY
Susan B. Griffin
Coordinator
Chenango North Energy Awareness Group
South Plymouth, New York
Keith Gunter
Citizens’ Resistance at Fermi Two
Monroe, MI
Regina Hagen
Darmstadt,Germany
Don Hancock
Southwest Research and Information Center
Albuquerque, NM
Grace de Haro
Lihue Association
Argentina
Dayle Harrison
Kalamazoo River Protection Association
Allegan, Michigan
Howie Hawkins
Co-Chair
Green Party of Onondaga County
Syracuse NY
Stephanie Hiller
Occidental, CA
Horst Hohmeier
Anti-Atom-Plenum
Bochum, Germany
Cindy Hollenberg
Fort Wayne, IN
Crispin B. Hollinshead
San Diego, CA
Daniela Horsman, RN
Woodbridge, VA USA
Chuck Johnson
Center for Energy Research
Salem, Oregon, USA
J.H. Johnsrud
Director
Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power
State College, PA
Debbie Katz
Citizens Awareness Network
Michael J. Keegan
Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes
Monroe, MI
Donald F. Keesing
Washington, DC
Marylia Kelley
executive director
Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
Livermore, CA USA
Joan King
20/20 VISION
Georgia, USA
Kingston Unitarian Fellowship
Social Action Committee
Kingston, Ontario Canada
Philip M. Klasky
Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition
CA
Dave Knight, Chair
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
David A. Kraft
Director
Nuclear Energy Information Service
Evanston, IL
John J. Kulinski
Pittsburgh, PA
Evelyn Lambert
Setauket, NY
Kaleah LaRoche
Bellingham, Washington
Nicholas Lenssen
Energy Analyst
Boulder, CO USA
Thomas Leonard
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Grand Rapids, MI
Marvin Lewis
Philadelphia PA
Terry J. Lodge
Coalition for a Safe Environment
Toledo, OH
Jake Lowinger
Brooklyn, NY
Andy Mager
Syracuse, NY
Arjun Makhijani
President
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
Takoma Park, MD
Ak Malten
Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance
The Hague, The Netherlands
Michael Mariotte
Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resources Service
Washington, DC
Rozetta Mariotte
Hilton Head Island, SC
B.J. Medley
Earth Concerns of Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Margo Menconi
PineGrove Mills, PA
Damon Moglen
Greenpeace USA
Washington, DC
Birgitta Moller
HELSINGBORG, Sweden
Richard Montgomery
Professor, Mathematics,
University of California, Santa Cruz
LeRoy Moore, Ph.D.
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Boulder, Colorado
Michael Murphy
Inter-Church Uranium Committee Educational Co-operative
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Robert K. Musil
Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Laura Newell
Bellingham, WA
Barbara A. Nicely
Cleveland Heights, OH
Lars A Norberg
VrЕngЖ
St Anna, Sweden
Kristen S. O’Connor
Sebastopol, CA
E.M.T. O’Nan
Director
Protect All Children’s Environment
Marion, NC
Sara Oberman
Santa Barbara, CA
Pat Ortmeyer
Women’s Actions for New Directions
USA
Josef Osterneck
Raleigh, NC
Gino Palmeri
Brattleboro, Vermont
Thomas A. Peterson
President
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Rob Pliskin
Cleveland Heights, OH
Georgiana Podulke
St. Paul, MN
Scott D. Portzline
Security Committee Chairman
Three Mile Island Alert
Peggy Prince
Director
Peace Action New Mexico
David N. Pyles
New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution
Brattleboro, VT
Phyllis and Ed Reinfranck
Evanston IL
Walter Robbins
Coordinator
Campaign STOP (Stop Trafficking Of Plutonium)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Harry Rogers
Carolina Peace Resource Center
Columbia SC
Chris Rusnov
Winslow Maine
Peg Ryglisyn
Michael Albrizio
Connecticut Opposed to Waste
Broad Brook, CT
John P. Scahill
Pittsburgh, PA
Gladys Schmitz
Mankato, MN
Mycle Schneider
Director
World Information Service on Energy (WISE-Paris)
Paris, France
Betty Schroeder
Arizona Safe Energy Coalition
Tucson, AZ
John P. Shannon
Saratoga Springs, NY
John Serop Simonian
Jesuit Volunteer Corps Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Bill Smirnow
Nuclear Free New York
Huntington, NY
Harold Stokes
Scott Heinzman
Codirectors
Metro-Detroit Alliance for Democracy
Michigan, USA
Art & Cindy Strauss
Columbus Ohio
Daniel Swartz
The ZHABA Collective
Budapest, Hungary
Chartis Tebbetts
Cohasset MA
Ellen Thomas
Executive Director
Proposition One Committee
Washington DC, USA
Judy Treichel
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Las Vegas, NV
Chris Trepal
Earth Day Coalition
Cleveland, OH
Uberparteiliche Plattform gegen Atomgefahren
Linz, Austria
Roger Voelker
Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana
Indianapolis, IN
Jim Warren
Director
NC WARN (North Carolina Waste Awareness & Reduction Network),
Durham, NC
Harvey Wasserman
Citizens Protecting Ohio
Bexley, OH
Andrea Wells
Bethlehem CT
Suzanne Westerly
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Santa Fe, NM
Galen White
Australia
Barbara Wiedner
Founder/Director
Grandmothers for Peace International
Elk Grove, CA
Helen Wiegel
Ohio, USA
Kathleen Whitley-Bartell
Westbury, N.Y.
Kathy Willingham
Macon, GA
Greg Wingard
Executive Director
Waste Action Project
Seattle, WA
Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom
Environment Committee
Philadelphia, PA
Soenke Zehle
Saarbruecken, Germany
Signatories from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Moldova (web posted June 14, 2000):
Russia
Vladimir Sliviak
Antinuclear Campaign
Socio-Ecological Union
Moscow, Russia
Elena Nikulina
“Anti-Atom Press”
Moscow, Russia
Galina Raguzina
WISE-Russia
Galiningrad, Russia
Alexandra Koroleva
Ecodefense!
Kaliningrad, Russia
Alexsey Kozolv
Center for the Support of Citizen Iniatives
Voronejh, Russia
Anna Shvedova
“No Corporations”
Voronejh, Russia
Alexsey Yablokov
Center for Russian Environmental Policy
Moscow, Russia
Natalya Baranova
Victor Dulepov
“Social Ecology”
Novosibirsk, Russia
Alexander Arbachakov
Agency for Research and Protection of the Taiga
Kemerovskaya oblast
Mejhdurechensk, Russia
Tamara Dobretsova
Valentina Yamchshikova
“In the Name of Life
Kostroma, Russia
Andrey Pechnikov
ISAR
Moscow, Russia
Sergey Shapkhaev
Buryatian Regional Union on Baikal
Ulan-Ude, Russia
Natalya Ragozina
Center for Public Health
Novosibirsk, Russia
Alexsander Veselov
Union of Environmentalists
Bashkortostan Republic, Russia
Vladimir Iakimets
Center for Russian Environmental Policy
Moscow, Russia
Mikhail Bogomolov
“Citizen”
Moscow, Russia
Nadejhda Kutepova
Planet of Hope
Ozersk, Russia
Andrey Rudomakha
Independent Environmental Service for Northwest Kavkaz
Kavkaz, Russia
Askhat Kayumov
Nijhniy Novgorod Branch of the Socio-Ecological Union
Nijhniy Novgorod, Russia
Anjhela Bakka
“Dront”
Nijhniy Novgorod, Russia
Boris Nekrasov
Association of Young Journalists of Tomsk Oblast (ASMO-Press)
Tomsk, Russia
Lyudmila Romanova
“Harmony”
Kamchatkaya Oblast, Russia
Elena Kruglikova
Apatiti Branch of the Kolskiy Coordinated Environmental Center
Murmanskaya oblast
Apatiti, Russia
Alena Vasileva
“Volgograd-Ecopress”
Volgograd, Russia
Nikolai Sukhomlinov
“Khingan”
Birobidjhan, Russia
Nikolai Zubov
Krasnoyarsk Branch of the Socio-Ecologicial Union
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Olga Morozova
“NOOSFERA”
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Valentin Zabortsev
Saving the Angara-Enisei Rivers
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Alexander Novobrantsev
“Harmony”
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Sergey Levichev
For a clean city and clean Siberia
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Vladimir Kirilin
“Citizens of Divnogorsk city”
Krasnoyarsk Oblast
Divnogorsk, Russia
Andrey Laletin
“Friends of Siberian Forests”
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Yuri Pirogov
“Environmental Initiative”
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Alina Danilevskaya
“World of Youth”
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Pyotr Shodkin
Environmental Union of Students
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Anatoliy Prokushkin
“KrasEco”
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Svetlana Titova
Amurskaya Branch of the Socio-Ecological Union
Amurskaya Oblast
Blagovechshensk, Russia
Alexander Karpov
“Dialogue-21”
St. Petersburg, Russia
Galina Khoreva
GAIA
Murmansk, Russia
Marina Rikvanova
Baikal Environmental Wave
Irkutsk, Russia
Vladimir Mikheev
Krasnoyarsk Citizen Center of Nuclear Non-proliferation
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Tatyana Artamonova
Svetlana Bondarevskaya
Elena Jhukova
Altai Branch of the Socio-Ecological Union
Barnaul, Russia
Oksana Engoyan
Tatyana Kondrashova
Gorno-Altai Branch of the Altai Branch of the Socio-Ecological Union
Gorno-Altai, Altai Republic, Russia
Mikhail Shishin
Irina Fotieva
Alexander Yumakaev
“Altai – 21st Century”
Barnaul, Russia
Mikhail Piskunov
Center for Assistance by Citizen’s Initiatives
Dimitrograd, Russia
Tatyana Razjhavina
Information-Rights Center
Dimitrograd, Russia
Semen Simonov
“Green Lightening”
Sochi, Russia
Sergey Pachshenko
Siberian Scientists for Global Responsibility
Novosibirsk, Russia
Ukraine
Sergey Shumilo
International Center of Human Initiatives and Environmental Research
Chernigov, Ukraine
Alexsey Svetikov
“Green World”
Severodonetsk, Ukraine
Igor Borodavko
Independent Radiological Laboratory
Kiev, Ukraine
Yuri Vasidlov
“Our Home”
Ivano-Frankovsk, Ukraine
Oleg Savchuk
Youth Agrarian Union
Kiev, Ukraine
Taras Chabanyuk
“Step Towards Understanding”
Odessa, Ukraine
Sergey Shaparenko
“Pechenegi”
Kharkov, Ukraine
Natalya Akulenko
Ukrainian Energy Brigade
Kiev, Ukraine
Irina Butorina
“Strategy”
Mariupol, Ukraine
Alla Shevchuk
Odessa Branch of the Socio-Ecological Union
Odessa, Ukraine
Kazakhstan
Kaisha Atakhanova
“EcoCenter”
Karaganda, Kazakhstan
Sergey Solyanik
“Green Rescue”
Almati, Kazakhstan
Lidiya Astanina
“Green Women”
Almati, Kazakhstan
Belarus
Alexander Vinchevskiy
“Akhova Ptushak Belarusi”
Minsa, Belarus
Armenia
Akop Sanasaryan
Union of Green Armenia
Erevan, Armenia
Moldova
Dinu Kojhokaru
“OZON”
Sergey Rusnak
“Satul Nou”
Oleg Rotaru
“ORMAX”
Ion Bold
“TERRA SANA”
Sergey Maslov
“Protectia drepturilor cetatenilor”
Tamara Krivchyaski
“Bastina”
Valeriy Popovich
“FVLB”
Vitaliy Donich
“AZIMUT”
Viorel Merjhineanu
“MAECENAS”