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Russia-U.S. joint program on the safe management of nuclear materials
The Russia-US joint program on the safe management of nuclear materials was initiated to address common technical issues confronting the US and Russia in the management of excess weapons grade nuclear materials. The program was initiated after the 1993 Tomsk-7 accident. This paper provides an update on program activities since 1996. The Fourth US Russia Nuclear Materials Safety Management Workshop was conducted in March 1997. In addition, a number of contracts with Russian Institutes have been placed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). These contracts support research related to the safe disposition of excess plutonium (Pu) and highly enriched uranium (HEU). Topics investigated by Russian scientists under contracts with SNL and LLNL include accident consequence studies, the safety of anion exchange processes, underground isolation of nuclear materials, and the development of materials for the immobilization of excess weapons Pu.