US warns Russia not to touch American nuclear technology at Ukrainian nuclear plant (Zaporizhzhia)

The US has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant inside Ukraine and is warning Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom last month.

In the letter, which was reviewed by CNN and is dated March 17, 2023, the director of the Energy Department’s Office of Nonproliferation Policy, Andrea Ferkile, tells Rosatom’s director general that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar “contains US-origin nuclear technical data that is export-controlled by the United States Government.”

Goods, software and technology are subject to US export controls when it is possible for them to be used in a way that undermines US national security interests.

The Energy Department letter comes as Russian forces continue to control the plant, which is the largest nuclear power station in Europe and sits in a part of the Zaporizhzhia region that Russia occupied after its invasion of Ukraine last February. The plant has frequently been disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid due to intense Russian shelling in the area, raising fears across Europe of a nuclear accident.

The plant is still physically operated by Ukrainian staff, Rosatom manages it. The Energy Department warned Rosatom in the letter that it is “unlawful” for any Russian citizens or entities to handle the US technology.

“It is unlawful under United States law for non-authorized persons, including, but not limited to, Russian citizens and Russian entities,” the letter says, “such as Rosatom and its subsidiaries, to knowingly and willfully access, possess, control, export, store, seize, review, re-export, ship, transfer, copy, manipulate such technology or technical data, or direct, or authorize others to do the same, without such Russian entities becoming authorized recipients by the Secretary of the US Department of Energy.”

Assuming the story is true (because it is CNN, but they aren’t the only ones reporting this): why exactly is “sensitive [American] nuclear technology” in a Ukrainian nuclear power plant?

The letter appears absolutely authentic. I first learned of this from the Eric Cosman Youtube video linked below. The U.S. Department of Energy in 2021 reportedly assessed maintenance procedures and recommended improvements for outage optimization. That is what they reported in public. What they did behind closed doors may have involved a little something something extra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-oNIieAW7E&ab_channel=EmilCosman

US warns Russia! Don't access the secret American technologies at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear PP. Or what??
Emil Cosman@emilcosman90 58K subscribers 5.2K videos

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https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/us-helps-optimize-ukrainian-nuclear-reactor

Office of Nuclear Energy
U.S. Helps Optimize Ukrainian Nuclear Reactor
June 28, 2021
Unit 2 at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is expected to significantly increase its annual power production in Ukraine thanks to an international project supported by the U.S. government. The United States helped implement new maintenance procedures and operations at the reactor that should ultimately strengthen energy security in the country.
Outage Optimization
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) worked with Argonne National Laboratory and Ukrainian company NT-Engineering to help Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and its operator, Energoatom, optimize their maintenance approach at Unit 2. The team assessed the reactor’s system configurations and maintenance routines to identify which services could be safely performed during operation instead of waiting until the reactor was shut down for refueling.
The project also included training for Ukrainian officials and its regulators on the new risk-informed management approach and how this process could be replicated at 12 other VVER 1000 units across the country.
“If this process is replicated at Ukraine’s 12 other VVER 1000 reactors, as Ukraine is now planning to, it will increase the overall power output of Ukraine’s reactor fleet by the equivalent of one new VVER 1000 reactor,” said Igor V. Bodnar, the project manager at Argonne National Laboratory.

The plant itself was built by the USSR in the USSR, starting in 1980.

Ms. Ferkile seems unaware that U.S. law has no jurisdiction in Russia or in a military conflict zone under Russian control. Perhaps she should send them a letter telling the Russians they have no right to reverse engineer the American weaponry used to attack the Russians until they obtain a permission slip from Ms. Ferkile. The plant is now under new management in Russian controlled territory.

Russia took over the plant around February 2022. The newfound cause for concern is the nearing collapse of the Ukrainian forces and the permanency of Russian control. I would expect some attempt to revisit the issue in any peace negotiation, not that the U.S. is a party to the conflict.

Copies of Ms. Ferkile's letter will be cut into 4-inch squares and placed in the little reading room where it may serve some useful purpose.

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