1/30/2002: NEW NONPROLIFERATION PROJECT AT ULBA
On 30 January 2002, US Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Spencer Abraham announced a new nonproliferation project with Kazakhstan. Under the project, two US companies, Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas (GNF) and RWE Nukem, and Brookhaven National Laboratory will assist the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Kazakhstan to use its advanced solvent extraction technology to recover low-enriched uranium from uranium concentrates. According to Abraham, the project will immediately create 50 new civilian jobs for former nuclear weapons scientists in Kazakhstan. In the coming years, the project is expected to employ hundreds of former nuclear weapons workers. DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has committed $1.2 million in IPP funds for joint work between Ulba and Brookhaven National Laboratory to design and install this technology. The recovered uranium will be available for commercial use in boiling water reactors. The US industry partners have matched NNSA's contribution.
["Energy Secretary Abraham Announces Nuclear Nonproliferation Effort with Kazakhstan for Former Soviet Nuclear Weapons Facility," U.S. Department of Energy Press Release, 30 January 2002, DOE website, http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/.] {Entered 03/01/2002 YP}
 
4/9/2001:  DOE PROPOSES 40% CUT FOR SPENT FUEL INITIATIVE
On 9 April 2001 the US Department of Energy released its FY 2002 budget request, in which $8.9 million was requested for the Spent Fuel Initiative in Kazakhstan.  This is a 40% decrease from the FY 2001 allocation of $15.8 million.  The FY 2002 budget request states that the reduced level reflects the "stretch out of completion," presumably referring to delays in selecting a long-term storage site for the plutonium. For more information, see the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine entry of the NIS Profiles Database.
[US Department of Energy, "Budget Highlights:  Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Request," DOE Web Site, http://www.energy.gov/DOEBudget/Highlght.pdf, p. 50.]{Entered 4/11/01 KB}
 
8/29/2000:  RICHARDSON ANNOUNCES PROGRESS AT MAEK, FUNDING FOR IPP
On 28-29 August 2000, US Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson held meetings with Kazakhstani President Nazarbayev and Minister of Energy, Industry, and Trade Shkolnik.  Richardson announced that the joint US-Kazakhstan project to package weapons-grade plutonium at MAEK is 85% complete, with over 2.5 tons of "ivory grade" plutonium, or 2,800 fuel assemblies, secured.  MAEK contains a total of 3 tons of "ivory grade" plutonium contained in approximately 300 metric tons of spent fuel.  Upon completion of the packaging project, anticipated for February 2001, the United States and Kazakhstan will proceed with plans for long-term storage and disposition of the fuel.  Richardson reported that thus far, the United States has budgeted $3.8 million to support efforts to safely shut down the BN-350 reactor as part of a December 1999 US-Kazakhstan agreement.  Richardson also announced that DOE's Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention project will award up to $4 million to nine Kazakhstani institutes to create employment opportunities for scientists with expertise in weapons of mass destruction.
["U.S. Secretary Richardson Highlights Strong U.S.-Kazakhstan Economic Relationship:  Expands Energy Cooperation; Announces Non-Proliferation Progress," US Department of Energy News, US DOE Website http://www.doe.gov/news/releases00/augpr/pr00221.htm, 29 August 2000.]{Entered 8/31/2000 KB}
 
1/24/2000: GOTTEMOELLER AND SHKOLNIK DISCUSS SHUTDOWN OF BN-350 REACTOR
US Assistant Secretary of Energy Rose Gottemoeller met with Kazakhstani Minister of Energy, Industry, and Trade Vladimir Shkolnik Astana to discuss US Department of Energy assistance programs in Kazakhstan.  The two parties discussed two ongoing DOE projects in Kazakhstan:  closing and decommissioning the BN-350 reactor in Aktau, and securing and disposing of spent fuel stored at the Aktau site.  Gottemoeller announced that the United States has provided Kazakhstan with $50 million in assistance each year since 1993 for nuclear disarmament.  On the decommissioning of the Aktau reactor, Gottemoeller added that the project will be a lengthy one and will require a total of $85 million.  In response to reporters' questions about the MiG export scandal, Gottemoeller noted that Kazakhstan and the United States have signed an agreement whereby the US will help develop an appropriate automated export control system for Kazakhstan.  The agreement also provides for training of Kazakhstani export control personnel in the United States and for assistance in amending existing export control laws in Kazakhstan.[1,2]
Sources:
[1] "V Astane obsuzhdayutsya voprosy kazakhstansko-amerikanskogo partnerstva programmy SUU," Vremya PO online edition, http://www.globe.kz, No. 6, 28 January 2000, p. 1.
[2] Nadezhda Shashkova, "Kogda doveriye nuzhneye deneg," Kazakhstanskaya Pravda online edition, http://www.kazpravda.kz, No. 26, 1 February 2000, p. 2.{Entered 7/19/2000 KB}
 
12/21/99: DOE TO RESTART IPP PROGRAM IN KAZAKHSTAN
DOE officials agreed to restart the IPP program during a US-Kazakhstan Bilateral Commission meeting in Washington, DC in December 1999 after Kazakhstan lifted taxation on salary payments made under the IPP program.  Kazakhstani scientists involved in the IPP program will participate in an international symposium sponsored by the Kazakhstani Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Almaty in late 2000.  According to the DOE, six projects valued at $650,000 will restart immediately.  Four additional projects with a value of $600,000 could be funded shortly; another six projects with a total value of more than $2.8 million are currently being developed and reviewed.
["U.S., Kazakhstan Agree to Decommission, Secure Kazakhstan Nuclear Reactor Near Iranian Border," Department of Energy News, US Department of Energy Website, http://www.doe.gov/news/releases99/decpr/pr99336.htm, 21 December 1999.]{Entered 7/19/2000 KB}
 
12/20/99: US AND KAZAKHSTAN APPROVED REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING PLAN
US Secretary of Energy William Richardson and Kazakhstani Minister of Energy Vladimir Shkolnik signed an agreement  to close and decommission the BN-350 reactor in Aktau at the US-Kazakhstani Bilateral Commission meeting on 20 December 1999 in Washington, DC. Secretary Richardson announced that a joint US-Kazakhstani expert group will launch a study of the long-term storage options for spent fuel currently stored at the site.
["Kazakhstan Reactor D&D plan OK'd by Bilateral Commission," Nuclear Weapons & Materials Monitor, 10 January 2000, p. 6.] {entered 2/15/00 NA}
 
7/97:  NONDESTRUCTIVE ASSAY ENHANCES MPC&A IN KAZAKHSTAN
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has provided nondestructive assay techniques and systems to upgrade MPC&A at four sites in Kazakhstan: the Ulba Metallurgy Plant, the BN-350 fast breeder reactor at Aktau, the Institute of Atomic Energy at Kurchatov, and the Institute of Nuclear Physics at Alatau.  The nuclear MPC&A enhancement program for Ulba is essentially complete, though some follow-up is expected to ensure a smooth transition to self-sufficiency. The BN-350 reactor has received approximately 75 percent of a monitoring system designed to sense radiation from and track the movement of nuclear material.  Complete installation and comprehensive follow-up will be required to fully optimize the system.  The BN-350 reactor has received gamma-ray measurement systems, and staff have received initial training on these systems. The design for a neutron assay system for spent fuel from BN-350 is underway at Los Alamos National Laboratory and should be installed by summer 1998. MPC&A equipment has been delivered to Kurchatov and Alatau, and activities at these facilities are essentially complete. However, the United States still needs to provide on-site training for gamma spectroscopy systems at these two sites, and some follow-up is predicted as the sites adjust to new equipment and procedures.  All four sites require calibration materials, which will be provided by New Brunswick Laboratory after Kazakhstani regulatory approval.
[J.K. Sprinkle et al., "Application of Nondestructive Assay Techniques in Kazakhstan," paper presented at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management 38th Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, 20-24 July 1997.]{entered 9/15/98 fw}
 
5/96: PROGRESS IN US MC&A/PP ASSISTANCE VIEWED
According to Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency (KAEA) officials, the pace of US MC&A/PP assistance has increased in 1996. A US Department of Energy/Sandia Lab delegation signed an agreement for physical protection of the VVR-K reactor facility with the Almaty branch of the National Nuclear Center (NNC) in 5/96. During a CISNP visit at the same time in 5/96, the NNC was unable to pay the guards protecting the facility. The NNC staff hoped that the situation would improve with the implementation of the Presidential decree of 4/30/96, according to which militia guards at the facility will be paid from the state budget. Another physical protection agreement was signed by the Los Alamos and Argonne labs and the Semipalatinsk branch of the NNC on 4/10/96. The KAEA also anticipates the signing of a Lab-to-Lab assistance agreement between the US Oakridge lab and the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine in the near future. To date, the majority of the US assistance has been provided to the Ulba metallurgical plant, where it began in 1993. Currently, Los Alamos and Oakridge National Labs are helping to prepare the initial inventory of nuclear material at the plant. The first 6-7 computers for automated MC&A are planned to be brought on line by 6/96. According to KAEA specialists, they have begun work on improving Kazakhstani MC&A system but have less expertise in physical protection.
[Emily Ewell, "Trip report -Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine," May 1996.]
 
3/29/96: US LABS CONDUCT MC&A SEMINAR IN ALMATY
Representatives of the Mangystau Atomic Energy Combine, Semipalatinsk nuclear reactors, Ulba metallurgical plant, and Atomic Energy Agency participated in a US-Kazakhstani MC&A seminar in Almaty with specialists from the Los Alamos and Oakridge US national laboratories.
[Aleksey Burenkov, "Atomnaya energiya pod kontrolem," Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 29 March 1996, p. 1.]
 
3/20/96: US LABS MC&A/PP ASSISTANCE IN KAZAKHSTAN DETAILED
In 1995-1996, Sandia National Laboratory and other US labs (including Argonne National Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) provided physical protection equipment and physical protection training to Kazak specialists at the Ulba fuel fabrication plant, research reactors at the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Aktau FBR, and a nuclear research reactor in Almaty. The US assistance was conducted under an agreement on control, accounting, and physical protection of nuclear material signed by the Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense and US Department of Defense in 12/93.
[Sandia National Laboratories, "Protection and Surveillance of Nuclear Materials in the Former Soviet Union," Hearings before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 20 March 1996.]
 
6/95: KAEA OFFICIAL ON US MC&A/PP ASSISTANCE
Yergali Bayadilov, Director General of the Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency (KAEA), stated that as of 6/95 the only movement on MC&A/PP under the Nunn-Lugar CTR program had been exchanges of experts and delegations. He also indicated that Kazakhstan was receiving MC&A/PP assistance from the following IAEA donor countries: England, providing KAEA with new office equipment; Sweden, providing equipment for the Ulba facility as well as 15 computers to be used in conjunction with the research reactors; and Japan, providing equipment for monitoring nuclear materials at the Aktau plant. The United States, Bayadilov commented, has promised to provide equipment for physical protection at the Ulba and Kurchatov (Semipalatinsk) facilities, but has yet to deliver such items.
[Emily Ewell, "Trip Report - Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine," 21 June 1995, p. 17-18.]
 
11/94: JAPAN PROVIDED MC&A TRAINING TO KAZAKHSTANI OFFICIALS
Six officials from Belarus and Kazakhstan were invited to visit Japanese nuclear facilities for a training program during which they will study ways to control, measure, and protect nuclear materials. The on-site training was given by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Science and Technology Agency at the following facilities: PNC's O-arai Engineering Center, JAERI's Tokai Research Establishment, Nuclear Material Control Center, and JAPC's first Tokai Atomic Power Station. In addition, the officials will meet with experts from the Japanese Atomic Energy Institute and the Japanese Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. A spokesman from the Japanese Foreign Ministry said he hoped the training program would help prevent nuclear smuggling from Belarus and Kazakhstan. The training was carried out as part of a larger agreement signed in 9/94 which helps support denuclearization in Belarus and Kazakhstan.
[Kyodo, 4 November 1994; in "Tokyo To Train Belarus, Kazakhstan Nuclear Officials," FBIS Document JPRS-TND-94-020,  11/17/94, p. 7]
["Japanese Gov't Trains Six Experts in N-Material Control From Ex-Soviet Union," Atoms in Japan, November 1994, p. 24.]
 
12/13/93: UNITED STATES, KAZAKHSTAN SIGN MC&A AGREEMENT
The United States and Kazakhstan signed both an umbrella agreement and an implementing agreement on US assistance to Kazakhstan in the sphere of material protection, control and accounting. Five million dollars in Nunn-Lugar funds and $300,000 in DOE funds were earmarked for MC&A/PP in Kazakhstan.
[DOE Public Information, Office of Nonproliferation and National Security, 27 January 1995.]
 
1/93: KAEA TO CONDUCT AN INVENTORY OF FISSILE MATERIAL
The Director General of the Kazakhstani Atomic Energy Agency (KAEA), Vladimir Shkolnik, has announced that his organization will conduct a preliminary inventory of all fissile materials by the end of 1993. A proposal has also been drafted for gathering information on so-called "nuclear material flows" in Kazakhstan through the use of satellites which are to relay information to and from satellite dishes at the uranium oxide fuels processing plant at Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kurchatov City, and the Aktau BN-350 breeder reactor.
[Nucleonics Week, 4 November 1993, p. 19.]