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International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) assistance in Kazakhstan is aimed at helping the
country establish an effective State System of Accounting and Control (SSAC).
This includes carrying out fact-finding missions and technical visits;
finding interested donor states; and coordinating technical support.
The IAEA carried out fact-finding missions to Kazakhstan in 1992 and 1993,
after which the government of Kazakhstan approved the IAEA's Coordinated
Technical Support Plan (CTSP). The CTSP is intended to be the main
tool in helping Kazakhstani and facility authorities in meeting their
nonproliferation and nuclear material accounting responsibilities. The
CTSP identifies the needs to be addressed, the timeframe over which the
associated activities are to be conducted, and the areas of intended
contribution from each of the donor states. The IAEA has also given
legislative assistance to Kazakhstan aimed at establishing a comprehensive
framework of legislation covering all areas of nuclear activity.[1] In
November 1999, the IAEA agreed to sponsor an international peer review of
the BN-350 shutdown plan being developed through three joint
US/Kazakhstan-led workshops in 2000. The DOE expects this review to be
conducted in August/September of 2000.[2] For more information on IAEA
activities in Kazakhstan, please see the IAEA
Membership Table and the Kazakhstan:
International Organization and Treaty Developments sections of NIS
profiles database.
In September 1994, the Foreign Ministry of Japan announced
that it would assist Kazakhstan in the creation of a nuclear material
safeguard system funded by the $11 million that Japan pledged to Kazakhstan
for nuclear dismantlement in April 1994. (The $11 million was Kazakhstan’s
share of the $100 million allocated to the four nuclear successor states by
Japan in 1993). Reportedly, Kazakhstan was seeking increased assistance from
Japan, after having relied on the West for disarmament aid in the period
immediately following independence. In April 1994, Japanese Prime Minister
Morihiro Hosokawa said that Japan would grant President Nazarbayev’s
request to receive funding for hospital equipment to treat victims of
nuclear testing, also from the designated $11 million.[1,2]
Since 1995, the Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation of
Japan has provided funding and technical assistance to the National Nuclear
Center in Kurchatov for an experimental center, known as Cotels, which is
dedicated to the study of nuclear power plant safety.[3] The
Cotels project has allowed Japanese and Kazakhstani nuclear scientists to
study the behavior of nuclear fuel in a reactor during accidents and
meltdowns. Different types of construction materials and coolant
systems have been used in the models. On 13 May 2000, the second phase
of the Cotels project, known as Eagle, was launched to study innovations in
the construction of fast breeder reactors. The Eagle phase of Cotels
will last until 2004.[4,5]
In April 2000, the US DOE indicated that the government of
Japan had agreed to support the decommissioning of the BN-350
reactor at Aktau.[6] DOE estimates the project will cost $85
million.[7]
JOINT RESEARCH CENTER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
The Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Parliament
is providing assistance with a prototype storage facility at Baykal-1.
Assistance includes surveillance and nuclear material accounting and control systems as well as physical
protection.
TACIS PROGRAM
From 1996-1998, the European Union's Technical
Assistance to the CIS (TACIS) program committed €9.5 million
($8,914,126 as of July 26, 2000) to its Nuclear Safety Program in
Kazakhstan.[1] TACIS provided funding for licensing activities at the Ministry
of Energy, Industry, and Trade and for waste management activities at
the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Complex
(MAEK).[2]
TACIS supplied Kazakhstan with special clothing to protect against sodium
fire (there are several hundred MT of sodium in the Aktau reactor) and valve
repair equipment.[1] TACIS has also established facilities for
mass-volume containment/surveillance and training at the Ulba
fuel fabrication plant.[2] The US DOE indicated in April 2000 that
TACIS had agreed to provide support for the shutdown of the BN-350 reactor
at Aktau.[3] A new TACIS program for 2000-2006 was approved by the
EU's Council of Ministers in January 2000, which committed €3.1 billion
($3.24 billion as of 6 January 2000 ) for fewer but larger programs,
including nuclear safety, in Kazakhstan and 12 other countries.[4]
2/24/2003: SHKOLNIK REPORTS ON EU NUCLEAR SAFETY PROJECTS IN KAZAKHSTAN
On 24 February 2003, Kazakhstani Minister of Energy and
Mineral Resources
Vladimir Shkolnik informed the lower chamber of Kazakhstani Parliament of EU-funded TACIS (Technical
Assistance to CIS) nuclear safety projects in Kazakhstan. Shkolnik reported that
of
a
total of 14 projects, seven have already been completed, at a total cost of €2.7
million (approximately $2.9 million as of February 2003). According to Shkolnik,
most TACIS nuclear safety assistance projects focus on the mothballing of the
MAEK
BN-350 reactor. An additional
€15-16 million (approximately $16-17 million) in further
assistance is expected for this purpose by 2007. Shkolnik mentioned that projects currently in progress include an
assessment of fire risks and safety
improvements at nuclear facilities, the supply of reactor testing equipment, and
the
preparation of technical specifications for repairs at the MAEK
spent fuel storage site. Shkolnik also mentioned that plans call for technical assistance
in assessing the environment in the Semipalatinsk region, and
in developing nuclear safety legislation.[1,2]
7/2002: EU FUNDS UPGRADE OF
ULBA MC&A SYSTEM
A project to upgrade the
material control and accounting system at Ulba has been underway since 14 April
2000, and is expected to end by December 2002. For more information, see the
7/2002 entry in the
Ulba file. |
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