Senate investigation into sale of Uranium One raises questions about export licenses

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s investigation into a Russian state-owned company’s acquisition of Uranium One in 2010 sparked new questions about whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) intentionally misled Congress.

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the chairman of the Senate EPW Committee, raised questions about information that NRC provided to Congress about required approvals for Russian firm Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ) to export uranium from the Wyoming-based recovery facilities.

Barrasso noted that he registered “strong concerns’ in a 2010 letter to President Obama about Russia taking control of Uranium One’s production facilities, and Russia’s ability to ship U.S. uranium overseas.

In response to Barrasso’s letter, former NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko wrote that neither Uranium One or ARMZ held the required export license, and ARMZ would need to apply with the NRC for a specific license to export uranium for use in reactor fuel, Jaczko concluded.

However, Uranium One was able to export uranium without a specific permit beginning in 2012 by ”piggybacking” as a supplier on an export license held by RSB Logistic Services, a shipping company. That allowed uranium to be shipped to Canada, and then to Europe, according to recent reports.

Barrasso raised questions about information provided by the NRC to Congress about uranium exports licenses in a letter sent to Energy Secretary Rick Perry and NRC Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki on Monday.

“While the NRC controls exports from the U.S., it does not have any control over subsequent exports once uranium is outside the U.S. border,” the letter stated. “The DoE is integral to the decision-making process regarding any subsequent exports. Reporting by the Casper Star Tribune shows that, upon receipt of my letter to President Obama, the White House forwarded the letter to the DoE, which then referred this matter to the NRC stating: ‘Because the subject of the letter does not fall within the purview of the Department of Energy, we are forwarding the letter to your agency.’ By stating DoE had no role in the matter, the DoE concealed the possibility of subsequent exports and their responsibility in reviewing them.”

Barrasso requested that Perry and Svinicki provide the committee with all documents and communications between the NRC and DoE about the transfer of control of Uranium One, the export and subsequent transfer of U.S. uranium, and the DoE’s recommendation that President Obama resubmit the U.S.-Russia agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation to Congress for review.