GOP Senators introduce bill to ban US imports of Russian uranium

US Republican Senators have introduced a bill to ban US imports of Russian uranium over its military operation in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “special military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbas region on February 24 to “defend people” subjected to "genocide" there against the government forces, stressing that Moscow has “no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory.”

Senator John Barrasso, who introduced the new legislation, said, "While banning imports of Russian oil, gas and coal is an important step, it cannot be the last."

The latest measure comes as the administration of President Joe Biden has been mulling sanctions on Russian nuclear supplier Rosatom, a move that could considerably impact the nuclear power and uranium mining industries.

Established in 2007, the state-owned Rosatom Corp., also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, is considered one of the world's largest nuclear energy companies and is a major supplier of fuel and technology to power plants across the globe.

US weighing sanctions on Russia’s nuclear supplier Rosatom: Report

The United States is reportedly mulling sanctions on Russian nuclear supplier Rosatom, a move that could considerably impact the nuclear power industry and uranium mining.

On March 8, Biden imposed bans on Russian oil and other energy imports, a move that was condemned by Moscow as an "economic war on Russia."

The administration's ban on US imports of Russian energy does not, however, include uranium.

Barrasso said banning Russian uranium imports will “help revive American uranium production, and increase our national security."

He represents Wyoming, a state that could derive benefit from a revitalization in US uranium mining.

The United States is heavily reliant on imported uranium as there are over 90 nuclear reactors in the US, more than any other country.

“We are home to the world’s largest fleet of nuclear power plants, significant uranium reserves, and yet we import virtually all of the uranium we use – half of which comes from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Aggressive action must be taken to address this vulnerability and immediately reinvest in American-sourced, essential mined materials produced under world-leading environmental and labor standards,” said Rich Nolan, the president and CEO of National Mining Association.

Russian uranium constituted 16 percent of US purchases in 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration, with Canada and Kazakhstan each supplying 22 percent.

Russia also supplies a fuel called highly enriched, low assay uranium (HALEU) which is enriched up to 20 percent. The fuel can be used in advanced nuclear plants which are likely to be developed later this decade or in the 2030s.

If enacted, the ban would make it necessary for the US to move fast on building bigger domestic capacity to supply HALEU.

US nuclear power industry pushing White House against ban on Russian uranium

The US nuclear power industry is reportedly lobbying the Biden administration to permit continued import of uranium from Russia despite the growing conflict in Ukraine, citing the cheap supply of the fuel as key to maintaining low electricity prices in the country.

Kathryn Huff, who Biden nominated to be an assistant secretary for nuclear energy and is now a senior official in the US Energy Department, told Barrasso in her nomination hearing on Thursday, "I think it is critically important that we wean ourselves off of unstable, untrustworthy sources of our critical fuels, including uranium."

The Nuclear Energy Institute, which is the industry's main trade group, backs development of a US uranium industry. An NEI spokesperson said the group was reviewing the new legislation and evaluating "the potential impacts of fuel disruption on the US nuclear fleet."

Meanwhile, many environmental groups and tribes have expressed opposition to the expansion of the industry on lands in the US West.

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