THE INTERNATIONAL SAFEGUARDING OF SAPPHIRE MATERIALS

In November 1994, the arrival of approximately 600 kgs of highly enriched uranium from Kazakstan marked the culmination of an effort known as “Project Sapphire.” Project Sapphire was carried out by the United States in support of national nonproliferation objectives and at the request of the Kazakstan government. The uhimate objective was to obtain secure storage for the highly enriched uranium until the material could be down blended. To demonstrate transparency and irreversibility of the processing of the Sapphire material, the United States government offered the Sapphire material to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the application of international safeguards. This paper provides details on the DOE perspective of the process of placing the Sapphire material under IAEA stieguards and an update on efforts to date.