MINISTER FOR PRIMARY INDUSTRIES AND ENERGY JOHN KERIN M.P. CANBERRA _______________

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PIE88/191K 2nd June 1988

SAFEGUARDS REPORT

The Director of the Australian Safeguards Office (ASO) Mr Frank  Bett has confirmed that France, Euratom and the International  Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are observing both the letter, and  the intent, of the safeguards agreements relating to Australian

obligated nuclear material.

The Minister for Primary Industries and Energy, Mr Kerin, said  today Mr Bett had reported this conclusion following a visit to  French enrichment facilities and discussions with relevant  Safeguards authorities.

Mr Bett had provided a detailed account of safeguards measures  applied at the Eurodif enrichment plant at Triscastin.

Some information on the plant follows:

The Eurodif plant at Tricastin is a commercial enrichment  facility established by a French, Belgian, Italian and Spanish  consortium to produce low enriched uranium suitable for use in  civilian nuclear power plants.

France has separate facilities and processes - including those  at Pierrelatte - for the production from low enriched uranium  of highly enriched uranium for military purposes.

For operational reasons including those of nuclear criticality,  it is not possible to produce highly enriched uranium in the  Eurodif plant at Tricastin.

The ASO has advised that the plant, in producing low-enriched  uranium, does process both obligated nuclear material,  which  remains in civil use, and unobligated material, which can -  after further enrichment at another facility - be used for  military purposes.

The Australian obligated nuclear material which passes through  the facility at Tricastin, however, remains confined to  exclusively peaceful non-explosive use, that is there is a  quantity of low-enriched uranium and depleted tails, equivalent  to the Australian obligated nuclear material which entered the  plant, which is designated Australian obligated nuclear

material and which may only be used for peaceful, non-explosive  purposes.

Mr Kerin said Mr Bett had concluded that measures to ensure  that at all times an equivalent amount of Australian obligated  nuclear material was subject to Australian safeguards  requirements were effective.

Mr Kerin said the operations of Australia's safeguards  agreements were subject to continual scrutiny.

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For further info: Sue Johnston (062) 72 6649

(062) 86 5828

