Urenco Group

Controversies

Abdul Qadeer Khan

In the 1970s, Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani metallurgist employed by a subcontractor for Urenco in Almelo, acquired and transferred classified engineering drawings of Urenco's gas centrifuges to Pakistan, bypassing both the company's administration and the Dutch government. These stolen blueprints proved critical to Pakistan's nuclear ambitions. In late 1974, Khan joined Project-706, a clandestine uranium enrichment programme launched by Munir Ahmad Khan under the direction of the then-Pakistani Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Khan subsequently assumed control of the project, establishing a highly advanced facility near Islamabad that successfully produced highly enriched uranium (HEU) within a brief period.

Namibia

In May 1985, the United Nations Council for Namibia (UNCN) initiated legal action against the uranium enrichment consortium Urenco for breaching UNCN Decree No. 1. This decree prohibited the exploitation of Namibia's natural resources while the territory was under the administration of South Africa under apartheid. The litigation arose from Urenco's importation of uranium ore from the Rössing mine in Namibia. Although the case was expected to be heard by the end of 1985, proceedings were delayed when Urenco argued that, despite having enriched Namibian uranium since 1980, it was impossible to determine the precise origin of specific consignments. When the case finally reached the court in July 1986, the Dutch government supported Urenco's position, claiming to have been unaware of where the uranium had originally been mined.

Uranium tails contracts with Russia

According to Greenpeace, Urenco maintains a contract with Russia for the disposal of radioactive waste. However, industry sources note that these contracts do not involve waste disposal, but rather the sale of depleted uranium tails, which are re-enriched to the equivalent of natural uranium. Under the terms of the agreement, Russia, as the enricher, retains ownership of any radioactive waste generated during the process. In March 2009, public protests occurred regarding the transport of a record-volume shipment of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) from Germany to the Siberian town of Seversk.