Regulatory Changes To Implement the United States/Australian Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to implement the 2010 "Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy" (the Agreement). The Agreement prohibits the United States from using Australian- obligated nuclear material to produce tritium for use in a nuclear explosive device, or for any other "military purpose" as defined in the Agreement. The Agreement's definition of military purpose states that it includes "depleted uranium munitions, and other direct military non-nuclear applications, as mutually determined by the Parties." The amendments in this final rule help enable the U.S. Government to meet its Agreement obligations with the Government of Australia.