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Global removal of weapons-usable uranium from civilian sites

Global removal of weapons-usable uranium from civilian sites

Built World

Venezuela becomes the 33rd country cleared as the NNSA pulls fuel from a 1991-era research reactor

May 9th, 2026: NNSA announces Venezuela removal complete

Overview

About 13.5 kilograms of bomb-grade uranium sat in a shuttered Venezuelan research reactor for 35 years. This week the US flew it to a processing site in South Carolina, less than six weeks after inspectors first walked the floor.

The Venezuela job is one stop on a long list. Since 1994, the National Nuclear Security Administration has been pulling weapons-usable fuel out of civilian research labs around the world, country by country. Venezuela is the 33rd. The remaining holdouts are getting harder, and the political conditions that unlocked this one were unusual.

Why it matters

Each removal shrinks the list of places a thief or rogue state could grab uranium pure enough for a crude nuclear weapon.

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Key Indicators

13.5 kg
Uranium removed from Venezuela
Enough fissile material for a crude nuclear device, enriched above the 20% weapons-usable threshold.
33
Countries cleared of HEU
Plus Taiwan. Up from one when Project Sapphire airlifted Kazakh uranium in 1994.
6 weeks
Venezuela operation duration
From initial site visit to material arriving in South Carolina. NNSA says comparable jobs usually take years.
1991
Year RV-1 reactor stopped
The uranium had been surplus for 35 years before removal.
20%
Enrichment threshold
Uranium above this level is classified as highly enriched and weapons-usable.

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People Involved

Brandon Williams
Brandon Williams
Announced Venezuela removal on May 8, 2026
 Matt Napoli
Matt Napoli
Led the operational team behind the removal
 Chris Wright
Chris Wright
Visited Venezuela in February 2026 to set up the removal

Organizations Involved

National Nuclear Security Administration
National Nuclear Security Administration
Federal Agency
Lead agency on the Venezuela removal

The semi-autonomous arm of the US Department of Energy responsible for nuclear weapons stockpile management and global nonproliferation work.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
UN Agency
Provided oversight and verification on the Venezuela transfer

The Vienna-based UN body that inspects civilian nuclear material and verifies that fuel doesn't get diverted to weapons programs.
Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research
Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research
National Research Institute
Held the uranium until removal in 2026

Venezuela's main basic-science institute, located 15 km southwest of Caracas, which operated the RV-1 research reactor from 1956 to 1991.
Savannah River Site
Savannah River Site
Department of Energy Facility
Receiving and processing the Venezuelan uranium

A 310-square-mile DOE complex near Aiken, South Carolina that handles the back end of the US nuclear fuel cycle.

Timeline

January 1956 May 2026

13 events Latest: May 9th, 2026 · 2 months ago Showing 8 of 13
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  1. NNSA announces Venezuela removal complete

    Latest Announcement

    DOE confirms all 13.5 kg of HEU is now in US custody. Venezuela becomes the 33rd country fully cleared of weapons-usable uranium.

  2. Uranium arrives at Savannah River Site

    Operation

    After a 100-mile overland trip and a UK-flagged sea voyage, the containers reach the South Carolina facility for processing.

  3. First NNSA site visit to RV-1

    Operation

    Technical teams arrive at IVIC to inventory the fuel and prepare it for shipping containers.

  4. Energy Secretary Wright visits Venezuela

    Diplomatic

    Site assessment in Caracas sets up the formal removal mission. NNSA teams begin planning the transit route.

  5. US captures Venezuelan president Maduro

    Political

    Operation Absolute Resolve takes Nicolás Maduro into US custody, opening the door to nonproliferation cooperation with the post-Maduro government.

  6. Nigeria becomes 32nd country cleared of HEU

    Milestone

    NNSA reports total of 32 countries plus Taiwan have removed all weapons-usable uranium from their territory.

  7. Libya releases last HEU spent fuel

    Precedent

    After a month-long delay, Libya allows a Russian-chartered plane to remove the final 5.2 kg of HEU from the Tajoura research reactor.

  8. NNSA launches Global Threat Reduction Initiative

    Policy

    DOE formally consolidates HEU repatriation, reactor conversion, and radiological source recovery under one program.

  9. Project Vinca repatriates Serbian HEU

    Precedent

    48 kg of HEU, enough for two crude weapons, is flown under Yugoslav police escort from Belgrade to a Russian processing plant.

  10. Operation Auburn Endeavor clears Tbilisi

    Precedent

    US, UK and Georgia move about 5 kg of HEU from a Soviet-era research reactor in Tbilisi to Dounreay, Scotland.

  11. Project Sapphire airlifts Kazakh uranium

    Precedent

    C-5 transports fly 600 kg of HEU from a poorly secured Ust-Kamenogorsk site to Oak Ridge, kicking off the modern HEU minimization era.

  12. RV-1 reactor stops operating

    Origin

    After 35 years of physics and nuclear research, the reactor shuts down. The HEU fuel becomes surplus and stays at the site.

  13. Venezuela buys RV-1 reactor from General Electric

    Origin

    Under President Pérez Jiménez, Venezuela joins the IAEA and acquires a 3-megawatt pool-type research reactor for IVIC.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

October–November 1994

Project Sapphire (1994)

US intelligence located 600 kg of weapons-grade uranium sitting in an under-guarded warehouse in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, after the Soviet collapse. Three C-5 transports flew the material to Oak Ridge under a directive signed by President Clinton.

Then

The HEU was down-blended at Y-12 to fuel for civilian reactors under IAEA safeguards.

Now

Sapphire became the template for every later civilian HEU removal, including Venezuela's. It also seeded the broader Cooperative Threat Reduction program.

Why this matters now

Same agencies, same end destination type, same mechanism: get vulnerable bomb-grade fuel out of a civilian site and into US custody before something goes wrong.

August 2002

Project Vinca (2002)

US, Russia and Serbia moved 48 kg of HEU, enough for two crude bombs, out of the Vinca Institute near Belgrade. The Nuclear Threat Initiative paid $5 million to fund spent-fuel cleanup because the State Department had no legal authority to do so.

Then

Material flown under heavy police escort to Russia's Ulyanovsk plant for down-blending.

Now

Set the precedent for blended public-private financing in nonproliferation work and helped clear the rest of Yugoslavia's nuclear legacy by 2010.

Why this matters now

Like Venezuela, Vinca pulled fuel from a long-shuttered research reactor in a country going through a political transition. The political opening made the technical job possible.

December 2009

Libya HEU repatriation (2009)

After Muammar Qaddafi gave up Libya's weapons program, the US, Russia and IAEA moved roughly 13 kg of HEU out of the Tajoura reactor. Libya halted the shipment for a month over an unrelated diplomatic dispute before releasing the final canisters.

Then

Material airlifted to Russia for down-blending; the Tajoura reactor was later converted to low-enriched fuel.

Now

After Qaddafi fell, IAEA later flagged 2.5 tons of natural uranium missing from a separate Libyan storage site, a reminder of what gets left behind when political conditions deteriorate.

Why this matters now

Roughly the same amount of material as Venezuela, removed under similarly narrow political windows. Libya's later instability shows the cost of leaving any of it behind.

Sources

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+5
U.S. Department of Energy Fox News ANI News International Atomic Energy Agency Wikipedia James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies Arms Control Association International Panel on Fissile Materials PressTV Wikipedia Wikipedia