Bill to ban Russian uranium imports debuts

Bill endorsement: “Our uranium import dependence is a case study in how our vital domestic minerals supply chains have atrophied to levels that result in a dire national security risk,” said Rich Nolan, president and chief executive officer of the National Mining Association, in response to the bill. “We are home to the world’s largest fleet of nuclear power plants, significant uranium reserves, and yet we import virtually all of the uranium we use—half of which comes from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Aggressive action must be taken to address this vulnerability and immediately reinvest in American-sourced, essential mined materials produced under world-leading environmental and labor standards. We applaud Sen. Barrasso for introducing this important legislation to immediately ban the import of Russian uranium.”

Noteworthy: Speaking to the ENR Committee at her March 17 confirmation hearing to head the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Kathryn Huff said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine “puts into stark contrast the importance of our energy security,” adding that “we need to build out the capacity for a Western alternative to the Russian component of the uranium market, including conversion and enrichment capacity.” According to Huff, solutions to the fuel needs of the current reactor fleet and to the need for high-assay low-enriched uranium for an advanced reactor fleet “can be found with sufficient support from appropriations and direction from DOE.”