Statement by the President Announcing an Increase in Enriched Uranium To Be Made Available for Peaceful Uses.
IN ACCORDANCE with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the President determines the quantities of special nuclear material to be made available for distribution at home and abroad. Such a Presidential determination of quantities of enriched uranium for peaceful uses was announced on July 3, 1963. Since that time, there has been considerable progress in plans for the increased utilization of enriched uranium in nuclear powerplants. In order to give assurances that enriched uranium can be supplied to meet these needs, I am announcing today a further increase in the quantifies of material to be made available.
I have determined, pursuant to section 41b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, that the quantities of uranium-235 in enriched uranium to be made available are raised from 200,000 to 300,000 kilograms for domestic distribution under section 53, and from 150,000 to 250,000 kilograms for foreign distribution under section 54. These amounts have been recommended by the Atomic Energy Commission with the concurrence of the Secretaries of State and Defense. The new total of 550,000 kilograms is more than 50 percent higher than the previous total.
The material will be distributed as required over a period of years and will be subject to prudent safeguards against unauthorized use. Charges for this material will result in substantial revenues to the United States Government. As nuclear programs develop in the future, it will undoubtedly be necessary to make further determinations increasing the amounts of material to be available. The large capacity of U.S. diffusion plants for the production of enriched uranium permits them to meet both civilian and military requirements.
A discussion of the new determination is contained in the attached statement by the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.
Note: The statement by Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, pointed out that the material, most of it of low enrichments, would be used in research and development and as fuel in nuclear reactors, with the bulk of it being utilized in generating electricity.
The statement noted that "Allocation of enriched uranium to a reactor project includes material for the fuel loading, for fuel consumption over the period of the domestic license or foreign agreement for cooperation, and for the inventory outside of the reactor associated with the manufacture and storage of fuel elements, cooling and shipment of irradiated fuel, and chemical processing of irradiated fuel to recover the remaining uranium and plutonium. The amount of U-235 contained in enriched uranium returned to the AEC is deducted from the amount supplied by the AEC in computing how much is available for further distribution. The material allocated to a reactor project may not be completely distributed for several decades.
"As of December 31, 1965, there were in effect in the United States construction permits or operating licenses for 18 power reactors, 5 test reactors, 75 research reactors, and 17 critical-experiment facilities, and 583 licenses for other uses of special nuclear material, not including the AEC's own reactors, facilities, and uses. Agreements for cooperation in the civil uses of atomic energy are in effect between the United States and a large part of the free world, including 34 countries and West Berlin; 16 of these agreements provide for cooperation on power reactors. In addition, agreements are in effect with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).
"Enriched uranium for peaceful uses is distributed abroad only under civil agreements for cooperation. All such agreements contain a guaranty by the cooperating country that the material supplied will be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. Safeguard provisions allowing inspection of materials, facilities, and records by United States or international inspectors are also included, as appropriate." (2 Weekly Comp. Pres. Docs., p. 164)
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President Announcing an Increase in Enriched Uranium To Be Made Available for Peaceful Uses. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/238534