AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
GENEVA: More than 2,000 tonnes (2,200 short tons) of uranium and some 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) of plutonium from Swiss nuclear plants are stored abroad, the country's Federal Energy Office (OFEN) confirmed Sunday.
Most of the material is stored in France, Germany, Sweden, Great Britain and the United States, according to information published in a Swiss newspaper.
Much of it — 1,642 tonnes (1,806 short tons) of natural uranium — has never been in Switzerland. It is material Swiss nuclear plants have bought to make new combustible elements. The rest is made up of nuclear waste and reprocessing elements.
The figures are the result of a survey conducted by OFEN, which gave Switzerland's nuclear operators until mid-April to disclose details of their material stored abroad.
From July 2006, it will be illegal to store Swiss nuclear waste outside the country.
