PRESS RELEASE (94)96                      6 October 1994

           NATO ADVANCED RESEARCH WORKSHOP 
            ON MIXED OXIDE NUCLEAR FUEL
          16-19 OCTOBER IN OBNINSK, RUSSIA

A NATO Advanced Research Workshop examining the
implications and techniques of MOX (mixed oxide) fuel
utilization, fabricated from ex-weapons plutonium, in
existing or future advanced power reactors, will be held
16-19 October 1994, at the Institute of Physics and Power
Engineering in Obninsk, Russia.

MOX fuel, a mixture of weapons-grade plutonium and
natural or depleted uranium, may be used to deplete a
portion of the surplus of weapons-grade plutonium.  A
number of reactors currently operate in Europe with
one-third MOX cores, and others are scheduled to begin
using MOX fuels in both Europe and Japan in the near
future.  While Russia has laboratory-scale MOX
fabrication facilities, the technology remains under
study.

Thirty experts from six NATO countries, as well as from
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Japan, will
participate in the two-and-a-half day workshop.  In
addition to senior participants from the Russian
Federation Ministry on Atomic Energy, observers will
represent the International Atomic Energy Agency in
Vienna, the Commission of the European Communities in
Brussels, and the European Parliament in Luxembourg.

Emphasis will be on technical aspects, including those
relating to modifying existing reactors, building MOX
fabrication facilities, and safety and health
issues for large-scale production of the oxide.

The workshop will thus seek to establish the technical
basis for policy decisions and identify key issues
surrounding plutonium disposition options.

Co-directors are Prof. Erich Merz (KFA Forschungszentrum
Julich, Germany), Dr. Anatoly N. Ryzkov and Dr. Gennady
Pshakin (Institute of Physics & Power Engineering,
Obninsk, Russia), and Mr. Yuori N. Bussurin (MINATOM,
Moscow).

For further information, please contact Dr. Gennady
Pshakin, International Division of the Institute of
Physics and Power Engineering, 249020 Obninsk,
Russia; fax: int'l-7-095-88 33 112.