Attached is a statement concerning the statutory basis for the requested
authorization and a description of the type of information exchanged under
existing programs.
In summary, authorization is requested for the continuance of the following
programs of cooperation:
[Page 1508]
Your authorization of the continuance of the foregoing programs of
cooperation is recommended.5
[Enclosure]
Report on Programs of Cooperation With Canada and
the United Kingdom Pursuant to Agreememts Existing on the Effective
Date of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954
With the enactment of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the continuation of
existing programs of cooperation with Canada and the United Kingdom
involving the communication of Restricted Data requires Presidential
authorization in accordance with Section 144a of the Act. Section 144a
reads as follows:
- “a. The President may authorize the Commission to
cooperate with another nation and to communicate to that
nation Restricted Data on—
- “(1) refining, purification, and subsequent
treatment of source material;
- “(2) reactor development;
- “(3) production of special nuclear
material;
- “(4) health and safety;
- “(5) industrial and other applications of atomic
energy for peaceful purposes; and
- “(6) research and development relating to the
foregoing.
Provided, however, that no such cooperation
shall involve the communication of Restricted Data relating to
the design or fabrication of atomic weapons: And provided
further, That the cooperation is undertaken pursuant to an
agreement for cooperation entered into in accordance with
section 123, or is undertaken pursuant to an
agreement existing on the effective date of this Act.”
(Underscoring added.)6
Thus, it is contemplated that the President may authorize the Commission
to cooperate with another nation and communicate to that nation
Restricted Data in the six areas specified when such cooperation is
undertaken pursuant to an agreement existing on the effective date of
the Act. It is further provided, however, that no such cooperation shall
involve the communication of Restricted Data relating to the design or
fabrication of atomic weapons.
The foregoing statutory provision permits Presidential authorization of
each of the programs of cooperation as indicated below:
1. The existing program of Technical Cooperation with the United Kingdom
and Canada involves the communication of Restricted Data in the
following areas:
- a.
- Health and Safety
- b.
- Research Uses of Radio-isotopes and Stable Isotopes
- c.
- Fundamental properties of Reactor Materials
- d.
- Extraction Chemistry
- e.
- General Research Experience with certain Low Power
Reactors
All the information exchanged in the foregoing areas falls within the
specified categories of Section 144a, quoted above. None of the
information relates to the design or fabrication of atomic weapons. The
cooperation is pursuant to the Modus Vivendi
dated January 7, 1948.
In addition to the Technical Cooperation in the foregoing areas, there
has been in effect exchange of information in another area entitled
“Detection of Distant Nuclear Explosions”. Information relating to
detection of distant nuclear explosions is not specified in Section 144a
of the Act, and hence Presidential authorization for the continuance of
exchange in this area is not requested. It is proposed that cooperation
in this area should continue in conjunction with the Department of
Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. It is believed that removal
from the Restricted Data category of that information relating to
detection of distant nuclear explosions
[Page 1510]
which may properly be removed under Section 142e
of the Act will enable cooperation in this area to continue, although
perhaps to a somewhat limited extent. Section 142e provides as follows:
“e. The Commission shall remove from the Restricted Data category
such information concerning the atomic energy programs of other
nations as the Commission and the Director of Central
Intelligence jointly determine to be necessary to carry out the
provisions of section 102(d) of the National Security Act of
1947, as amended, and can be adequately safeguarded as defense
information.”
Cooperation in the raw materials field within the Combined Development
Agency does not for the most part involve the communication of
Restricted Data. The information in this field of cooperation pertains
principally to exploration and assaying techniques, geological
information, and research and procedures for the processing of ores,
which is normally not Restricted Data. From time to time, however, some
information in the raw materials field may fall within the category of
Restricted Data, particularly that information relating to quantities of
source material available from important foreign sources; accordingly,
authorization for the continuance of this cooperation is specifically
requested. Such Restricted Data as is involved in this cooperation is
within the specified categories of Section 144a, quoted above, and does
not relate to the design or fabrication of atomic weapons. The
cooperation is pursuant to the Modus Vivendi
dated January 7, 1948.
2. The existing program of cooperation with Canada on uranium refining
processes and technology involves the communication to Canada by the
United States of such Restricted Data as may be necessary to enable the
Canadians to design, construct, and operate a uranium ore refinery
incorporating the most recent United States technology and which would
be capable of processing Canadian ore concentrates to a product meeting
specifications as a feed to the metal production chain. This cooperation
also includes the assistance of a United States private company as
authorized by the Commission. The details of the arrangement are
contained in a letter from the Commission to the President dated
December 18 [19], 1951.7 The
arrangement was approved by the President on January 17, 1952, in
accordance with Section 10(a) (3) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, as
amended. The Restricted Data involved falls within the specified
categories of Section 144a, quoted above, and does not involve the
communication of Restricted Data relating to
[Page 1511]
the design or fabrication of atomic weapons. The
cooperation is pursuant to an agreement existing on the effective date
of the Act.
3. The existing program of cooperation with the United Kingdom in
connection with intelligence information includes the communication by
the United States of Restricted Data relating to the production of
certain materials in the United States as described in a Top Secret
letter from the Commission to the President dated May 26, 1952. The
arrangement was approved by the President on June 26, 1952, in
accordance with Section 10(a) (3) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, as
amended. The Restricted Data involved is within the specified categories
of Section 144a of the Act, quoted above, and does not relate to the
design or fabrication of atomic weapons. The cooperation is pursuant to
an agreement existing on the effective date of the Act.
4. The cooperation with Canada in a joint program for the development of
reactor fuel elements involves the disclosure by the United States of
Restricted Data relating to the development, fabrication, sheathing,
testing, and assembly of experimental stable uranium plates into
processed tubes and the irradiation and examination of such plates and
assemblies in the United States and Canadian reactor facilities.
This program was described in detail in a letter from the Commission to
the President dated June 15, 1953.8 The arrangement was approved by the President
on July 13, 1953. The information involved falls within the permitted
areas of Section 144a of the Act, quoted above, and does not relate to
the design or fabrication of atomic weapons. The cooperation is pursuant
to an agreement existing on the effective date of the Act.
