This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000439 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR ISN/NESS (WHAMMACK, EUR/WE (FETCHKO), AND EUR/PRA 
(JCONLON), DOE FOR NNSA/NA-212 (TANNO) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2015 
TAGS: ENRG KNNP KSTC IT ITALY NATIONAL ELECTIONS

SUBJECT: DISPOSITION OF ELK RIVER SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL: 
LETTER FROM U/S OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS GIANNI LETTA TO 
AMBASSADOR 
 
REF: 04 ROME 003592 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR RONALD P. SPOGLI, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 


¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST:  On February 6, the 
Ambassador received a letter from Gianni Letta, Under 
Secretary to the Council of Ministers requesting assistance 
 
SIPDIS 
to return to the United States 64 thorium-uranium bundles of 
spent nuclear fuel (SNF) originally from the Elk River, MN 
plant.  Letta requested a response by the end of February. 
The Under Secretary made the same request directly to the 
Department of Energy (DOE) in August 2004 (reftel), but in 
January 2005, former Secretary of Energy Abraham responded 
that after thorough technical and legal review, the DOE could 
not accept the spent nuclear fuel under any existing 
programs.  The reason the GOI has repeated the request on an 
urgent basis is because the issue is politically sensitive 
for Prime Minister Berlusconi's center-right coalition, which 
is facing a tough battle for re-election in April.  With the 
election looming, Letta writes, the GOI will be ""forced"" to 
transfer the Elk River SNF to Russia if it cannot be 
repatriated to the United States.  An unofficial translation 
of Letta's letter (para. 2-5), along with the Ambassador's 
proposed reply (para. 9-11) follow.  ACTION REQUEST: 
Department please review U/S Letta's letter and proposed 
response from the Ambassador in paragraphs 9 through 11, and 
provide comments/clearance by February 17.  END SUMMARY AND 
ACTION REQUEST. 
 
BEGIN TEXT OF INFORMAL EMBASSY TRANSLATION 
 


¶2.  (C)  Dear Mister Ambassador, 
I am writing you to call your attention to an issue about 
which your embassy has probably already informed you.  It is 
a very important issue for the (Italian) government even from 
the psychological point of view.  We will soon be sending our 
nuclear waste currently stored in Piedmont and Emilia Romagna 
to France.  The spent fuel will remain in France until 2025 
at least, when Italy should have its own nuclear waste 
storage site.  This is causing protests in the South.  In 
fact, sixty-four thorium-uranium bars of spent fuel are 
stored in the ITREC (Trisaia Research Center) site at 
Rotondella (in the province of Matera), and these bars cannot 
be reprocessed in Europe.  These came to Italy from the U.S. 
Elk River Plant in 1970, during a joint project, which was 
later abandoned, between CNEN (now ENEA - the Agency for New 
Technologies, Energy and the Environment) and the AEC (Atomic 
Energy Commission) (now DOE).  Hundreds of such bars (which 
contain uranium-235 at 93% and even up to 95% when combined 
with thorium, are currently stored at the U.S. Savannah River 
site. 
 


¶3.  (C)  We have asked the U.S. authorities (the President 
and DOE) to bring to that site also the few bars stored at 
Rotondella, which are contained in two casks made according 
to U.S. requirements for storage and transport.  Italy will 
provide full funding for the operation.  As you can see, it 
is a small thing.  But if the practical issue is painless, 
the psychological and thus political impact is the opposite. 
The issue has been used already by local and national 
opposition forces, which state that the Berlusconi government 
supports the north more than the south. 
 


¶4.  (C)  On November 9, 2005, the President of SOGIN (the 
Agency for Administration of Nuclear Plants) repeated the 
same request to the Department of Energy and other embassy 
representatives, underlining that Italy needed a reply by the 
end of February.  If not received by then, reasons of 
relevant opportunity - in practice, in order to avoid 
demonstrations - would force us to transfer the two casks to 
Russia for about fifty years.  A company of Rosatom (formerly 
Minatom) has already shown interest in storing the two casks 
for a decidedly modest price.  Given the military level of 
enriched uranium in the ITREC bars, the operation could be 
included under the Global Threat Reduction initiative, since, 
as I have said, the fuel came from a U.S. plant.  SOGIN is 
available to provide you with all the details.  The U.S. 
decision could be made known at a public meeting to which I 
would invite local and neighboring regional authorities and 
the media. 
 


¶5.  (C)  Being sure of your interest in this matter, I thank 
you in advance on behalf of the government, and underline 
once again that we need an answer by the end of February. 
With warm regards, //ss// Gianni Letta. 
END TEXT OF INFORMAL EMBASSY TRANSLATION. 


COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6.  (C)  The south, especially the region of Puglia which 
adjoins Matera to the east, will be a key battleground in the 
April 9 elections.  Hence the Berlusconi government's 
interest in defusing the potentially negative publicity that 
could ensue from demonstrations over the spent fuel issue. 
END COMMENT. 
 
¶7.  (C)  We want to respond in a timely manner to Under 
Secretary Letta.  He is one of the best and senior-most 
 
SIPDIS 
contacts for the embassy, and is someone to whom we turn for 
help on issues critical to the U.S. interest.  U.S.-Italy 
relations traditionally have been strong regardless of the 
party in power, but have been especially close under Prime 
Minister Berlusconi and his center-right coalition 
government.  Berlusconi's close personal relationship with 
the President is a key factor in maintaining Italian military 
contributions in Iraq in the face of significant popular 
opposition, and reflects our strong bilateral cultural and 
historical ties.  Italy also provides other funding and 
troops (over 10,000 total peacekeeping troops deployed 
worldwide), including assets in Afghanistan, the Balkans, and 
Darfur. 
 


GLOBAL THREAT REDUCTION INITIATIVE 
---------------------------------- 
 

¶8. (C)  We understand, based on Secretary Abraham's January 
2005 letter and on DOE's November discussions with SOGIN on 
the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) ""gap"" materials 
disposition program, that DOE does not consider the Elk River 
SNF sufficiently ""high-risk"" to be given priority under GTRI 
programs at this time.  We propose the following response to 
Under Secretary Letta. 
 

PROPOSED RESPONSE FROM AMBASSADOR TO U/S LETTA 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
BEGIN PROPOSED TEXT: 
 

¶9. (C/Releasable to Italy)  Dear Under Secretary Letta: 
 
Thank you for your letter of February 6 concerning the 
disposition of uranium-thorium spent nuclear fuel stored at 
the ITREC (Trisaia Research Center) at Rotondella, in the 
province of Matera.  I have been fully briefed on the history 
of the efforts to repatriate this material, originally from 
the Elk River nuclear plant, to the Savannah River National 
Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina. 
 


¶10.  (C/Releasable to Italy)  I can assure you that we 
understand the government of Italy's pressing need to find a 
disposition path, and I have followed up carefully on this 
issue with the Department of Energy (DOE).  The Office of 
Global Nuclear Material Threat Reduction of the National 
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has carefully reviewed 
your request.  DOE officials reviewed the matter again after 
NNSA representatives met with the President of SOGIN last 
November.  And I have inquired myself.  Unfortunately, there 
has been no change in the Department of Energy's position 
that it cannot accept the Elk River material. 
 
¶11. (C/Releasable to Italy)  As you know, the United States 
greatly values its strong partnership with Italy on 
nonproliferation cooperation and on the development of 
nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes.  We 
have tried to be helpful where possible on the difficult 
issue of nuclear waste disposal.  In this case, although the 
answer is negative, I wanted to be sure to respond 
expeditiously, so that you could proceed if necessary with 
the alternate remedies you described in your letter. 
(Complimentary close) 
END PROPOSED TEXT. 
SPOGLI 
"	Classification: UNCLASSIFIED 




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