24 March 2000
(Nuclear Cities project will fund conversion in Sarov) (750) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) signed a contract with the Avangard Foundation March 23 to support conversion of a Russian nuclear weapons plant in the closed city of Sarov to the manufacture of kidney dialysis equipment, an Energy Department press release said. The contract was developed under the Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), an Energy Department effort to help the Russian government provide civilian employment opportunities to weapons scientists. "Russians who used to make weapons of mass destruction are now going to apply their scientific knowledge to designing life-saving equipment," Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said. "Such profitable, commercial industries must be introduced to Russia's closed cities so these scientists don't defect to rogue nations willing to offer generous salaries in return for nuclear expertise." Rose Gottemoeller, acting deputy administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, called the contract "a major breakthrough for the Nuclear Cities Initiative. Until now this facility has refused to allow any Westerners inside. Now they are permitting us to make structural changes to the facility and negotiate with private businesses to work inside this factory that has been used to manufacture nuclear weapons components." The goal of the Avangard contract, according to the release, is eventually to employ several hundred former weapons builders in the daily production of parts for dialysis machines and ultimately the fabrication of complete dialysis systems. Following is the text of the release: (begin text) U.S. Department of Energy News Release March 24, 2000 RUSSIAN WEAPONS PLANT TO MANUFACTURE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT Department of Energy's Nuclear Cities Initiative in Dramatic Breakthrough Brings Civilian Work to Former Weapons Manufacturers The Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) signed a contract yesterday with the Avangard Foundation to support the manufacture of kidney dialysis equipment at the closed city of Sarov. This is the first time a Department of Energy laboratory has signed a contract with a former Russian nuclear weapons manufacturer; this follows last week's signing of two other contracts between LLNL and a Russian weapons design institute. "Russians who used to make weapons of mass destruction are now going to apply their scientific knowledge to designing life-saving equipment," said Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. "Such profitable, commercial industries must be introduced to Russia's closed cities so these scientists don't defect to rogue nations willing to offer generous salaries in return for nuclear expertise." "Until now this facility has refused to allow any Westerners inside. Now they are permitting us to make structural changes to the facility and negotiate with private businesses to work inside this factory that has been used to manufacture nuclear weapons components. This is a major breakthrough for the Nuclear Cities Initiative," added Rose Gottemoeller, Acting Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. The dialysis contract was developed under the Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), a Department of Energy effort to help the Russian government provide civilian employment opportunities to weapons scientists in closed Russian nuclear cities. The goal of the NCI is to make it possible for the Russian scientists to remain in their homeland and work on sustainable civilian and commercial projects as facilities in Russia's weapons complex are downsized or closed. In the first phase of the contract with Avangard, the fences surrounding current weapons buildings will be moved, effectively placing these facilities in the open part of the city. These buildings, previously the site of nuclear weapons work, will be modified for the installation of production lines for dialysis components. The goal of the Avangard contract is to eventually employ several hundred former weapons builders in the daily production of parts for dialysis machines and ultimately the fabrication of complete dialysis systems. The Avangard Electromechanical Plant is seeking international manufacturing certification and hopes to become a major player in the manufacture of medical instrumentation. As a preliminary arrangement, three Avangard-manufactured dialysis components will be purchased by a western company and installed in machines distributed world-wide. The Avangard plant was the first Russian facility to manufacture nuclear weapons on an industrial scale. The Avangard Foundation has been established as an independent business entity that can contract with western customers. The Foundation will be open for scrutiny to ensure that funds are used for the purpose intended, consistent with U.S. government policy. NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: Tamara Hamilton, DOE, 202/586-5806 Jeff Garberson, LLNL, 925/423-3125 (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)