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Switzerland’s stockpile of nuclear fuel abroad shrinks

Switzerland has fewer nuclear materials abroad
Switzerland has fewer nuclear materials abroad Keystone-SDA

Swiss stocks of nuclear materials abroad fell in 2024. While the quantity of low-enriched uranium rose slightly (+27.3 tonnes), that of natural uranium fell more sharply (-81.8 tonnes). The other quantities are unchanged.

The quantity of natural uranium is almost 770 tonnes, whereas it had stabilised at around 1,000 tonnes between 2020 and 2022. It had almost doubled by 2020. As for low-enriched uranium, the stockpile stands at nearly 141 tonnes. This compares with 113.6 tonnes a year earlier.

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Depleted uranium (8 kg) and plutonium (1 kg) have not changed since 2017. However, Switzerland does not store thorium or highly enriched uranium abroad. Stocks of uranium from reprocessing will be phased out in 2020.

Swiss nuclear material stocks are located in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain and Sweden, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) said in a press release on Thursday. They vary as a result of the acquisition and conversion of uranium into fuel elements, depending on economic and operational requirements.

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Since the entry into force of the Nuclear Energy Act and the Ordinance on the Application of Safeguards, all stocks of Swiss nuclear materials abroad must be declared to the supervisory authorities every year.

Adapted from French by DeepL/ac

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