FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, August 24, 1995 Statement of Paul Leventhal On DOE's Decision to Accept 2nd Urgent-Relief Shipment of Bomb-Grade Uranium CONTACT: Alan Kuperman (202) 822-8444 (202) 265-2262 The Nuclear Control Institute is gratified that Secretary O'Leary has acted, albeit belatedly, to put the take-back program back on track. Regrettably, delays by DOE compelled the Germans to turn to AEA Dounreay in Scotland for reprocessing of 52 fuel elements, but we remain hopeful the Germans can be convinced to ship this highly enriched uranium to the United States as originally planned. The near-disaster on the EA presents an important lesson for DOE to apply to the EIS. While the U.S. government must act within the law, it also must not hamstring itself by waiting until every last conceivable judicial appeal is exhausted. The test of leadership is not just formulating a good policy, but doing the right thing. We urge Secretary O'Leary to stick to her timetable for completing the EIS and to make clear that U.S. nonproliferation policy will not be held hostage to frivolous, politically-inspired lawsuits. Germany's decision to sign a contract with AEA Dounreay in response to earlier DOE foot-dragging vindicates our position, and that of the State Department, that failure to accept these elements on an urgent basis would seriously harm the reduced-enrichment (RERTR) program and U.S. nonproliferation interests in general. Most encouraging, Secretary O'Leary has sent a strong signal about her intent regarding the remaining 24,000 U.S.-origin spent fuel elements covered in the draft EIS. Clearly, she understands how important it is for the United States to live up to its past commitments to accept this fuel and to ensure that these elements not be reprocessed at Dounreay and not re-enter commerce as HEU. ---