US Senate Investigates Uranium Exports By A Russian-Owned US Firm

Senate Environment Committee Chair John Barrasso sent a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Christina Svinitski, informing him that he is expanding the investigation into the sale of uranium from the Uran-1 plants to the Russian state-owned company Atomredmetzoloto or ARMZ. approved in 2010 by the Obama administration.

Barrasso asked Perry and Svinitsky to explain how a Russian mining company was able to ship American uranium to Canada and through its northern neighbor to Europe and Asia using a third-party export license. His claims are based on a series of stories published by The Hill, which states that the NRC approved a permit for Uranium-1 to use RSB Logistic Services' export license to move uranium across US borders after it was bought by a subsidiary of the Russian state nuclear corporation "Rosatom" in 2010.

According to The Hill, Republicans have long asked questions about the Obama administration's approval of Russia's Uranium 1 purchase, as out of national security concerns. However, the newspaper also states that Obama officials denied these concerns, saying there were no problems in the area.