In 1993, shortly after the Soviet Union collapsed, the U.S. and Russia struck a deal whereby the U.S. would buy 500 tons of bomb-grade uranium over 20 years. This uranium came from decommissioning nuclear missiles and bombs – about 20,000 warheads worth . Over the 20 year period we paid $17 billion for the uranium.

From 1993 until 2013 the nuclear fuel from these decommissioned Russian warheads and bombs provided about 10% of the electricity consumed in the United States.