Between the 1960s and mid-1980s, Italy had an ambitious nuclear power research program which included heavy water, boiling water, light water, and fast reactors. In 1979, Italy signed the NPT which reaffirmed its commitment to be nuclear weapons free.
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In 1987, through a referendum, Italy announced the end of its nuclear energy program, and the Società Gestione Impianti Nucleari (SOGIN) was created in 2001 to decommission and clean up nuclear facilities.
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At the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Italy has announced it will work jointly with the United States to eliminate its excess highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium.
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SOGIN has been working closely for the past year with NNSA’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), to identify materials that can be transferred to the United States for disposition.
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Italy and the United States will continue to work together to complete the removal of this material in connection with the Nuclear Security Summit in 2014.
Material quantities and locations are considered sensitive information so cannot be shared at this time.
