SOURCES OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Under the 31 December 1992 decree of the Kazakhstani Cabinet of Ministers On Urgent Measures To Improve the Radiation Situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan, a program was adopted to create a state system for collecting, processing, transporting, and disposing of radioactive waste. Within the framework of this program, a registry of locations with radioactive waste on the republic’s territory was prepared. According to official sources, there are more than 230 million tons of radioactive waste in Kazakhstan, with a total activity of more than 13 million Ci. The main sources of radioactive waste in Kazakhstan are the following: nuclear explosions (12 million tons at 13 million Ci); uranium mining, milling, and processing facilities and nuclear reactors (218-225 million tons of low-activity waste totaling 230,000 Ci and 1.17 million tons of medium-activity waste totaling 57,600 Ci); and industries using radioactive isotope products (100,000 irradiation capsules in use, of which 20,000, with a total activity of 80,000 Ci, require disposal). This waste is stored in 529 different locations as follows: 127 sites at uranium mining and processing facilities; 76 at uranium ore milling and processing enterprises; 16 at the locations of past nuclear explosions; five at nuclear facilities; and 301 at plants using sealed radiation source products. Kayrolla Yerezhepov, vice-president of KATEP, indicated in 1995 that Kazakhstan did not have an integrated system for dealing with radioactive waste, raising serious environmental concerns.[1,2,3,4,5]
 
Additional sources of radioactive contamination in Kazakhstan include traces from the Chornobyl and Mayak nuclear accidents. According to Viktor Slavgorodskiy, vice-president of the enterprise Kazizotop, the Chornobyl nuclear accident caused a considerable increase in the global fallout of cesium-137 in Kazakhstan in 1986. The influence of the Mayak nuclear accident in 1957 is unclear due to the absence of records in Kazakhstan at that time. Nuclear tests at the Chinese site Lop-Nor influenced East-Kazakhstan, Taldykorgan, Almaty, Semipalatinsk, and Zhezkazgan oblasts; however, there has been no systematic observation of contamination levels resulting from the Lop-Nor activities.[3]
Sources:
[1] "Radiation Situation on the Territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan," Aziya-Ezh, No. 47, November 1996, p. 23;  in "Kazakhstan: Results of Radioactive Contamination Study," FBIS-SOV-96-252-S.
[2] Report done for CISNP, Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency, 7 July 1995.
[3] Yaroslav Razumov, "Sostavlena karta radioaktivnogo zagryazneniya Kazakhstana," Panorama, No. 9, 8 March 1996, p. 7.
[4] "Radioactive Waste in the Republic of Kazakhstan," presentation paper to the Waste Management '95 Symposium, 26 February - 2 March 1995, Tucson, AZ.
[5] Panorama, 2 September 1995; in FBIS-SOV-95-174, "Yerezhepov on Burial of Radioactive Waste," 2 September 1995.{Section revised 2/2/97 GB}

SPENT FUEL STORAGE SITES
Kazakhstan has one all-republic waste site for radioactive material which is located at the Baykal-1 reactor complex of the former Semipalatinsk testing ground. The storage facility, which was built for high-activity waste and reportedly meets international standards, has been reconstructed for the accommodation of sealed radioactive sources. Spent, sealed radioactive sources from Kazakhstan were sent to Russia for storage until the Russian Constitution forbade the import of foreign radioactive waste. According to Director General of the Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency Timur Zhantikin, another possible location for radioactive waste storage is a site near Stepnogorsk, which was reportedly 70 percent complete in 1996.[1]
 
Other sites devoted to the storage of spent fuel are located near the reactors. One is operated by the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine (which accumulated more than one MT of plutonium in 1996, due to the activity of the Aktau nuclear reactor); two others belong to the Institute of Nuclear Physics, which built them at the beginning of the 1960s near Almaty. The Ulba metallurgical plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk also operates a storage facility for low activity waste located near the city.[2,3]
Sources:
[1] Kazakhstanskaya pravda, "Pri vybore reaktora my budem rukovodstvovatsya dvumya printsipami: bezopasnostyu i ekonomichnostyu," 15 May 1996.
[2] CISNP discussions with senior Kazakhstani nuclear officials, May 1995.
[3] Yekaterina Latypova, "MNTTS i Natsionalnyy yadernyy tsentr Kazakhstana proveli seminar po mezhdunarodnomu sotrudnichestvu v oblasti konversii," Panorama, 25 October 1996, p. 2. {Updated 12/12/96 GB, Revised 2/3/97 GB, revised 5/19/99 FW}

GENERAL SPENT FUEL AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE DEVELOPMENTS:
(For facility-specific developments, please see entries for the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine and the National Nuclear Center research reactors.)
 
9/23/2003: ATTEMPT TO SELL DEPLETED URANIUM THWARTED
Police in Kazakhstan have arrested a resident in the northern border town of Uralsk in West Kazakhstan Oblast who was trying to sell a container with an undisclosed amount of depleted uranium.  The Kazakh newspaper Ekspress K reported the arrest on 23 September 2003.  Officials have not disclosed further information about the price sought for the material, its origin or how it came to be in the oblast.
["Pochem nynche uran?" Ekspress K, 23 September 2003; in Integrum Techno, http://afnet.integrum.ru. {Entered 12/12/2003 CC}

9/9/2003: RADIATION DETECTED AT CHECKPOINT
Kazakhstani customs agents turned back a truck carrying 20 metric tons of stainless steel found to be emitting high levels of gamma radiation, Ekspress K reported on 9 September 2003. Customs officials at the Martuk checkpoint in Aktyubinsk Oblast on the Russian border sent the Latvia-bound cargo back to its sender, Mustang-2001 LLC of Kyzylorda, after they measured its radiation level as 620 microroetgen/hr or 31 times the acceptable level.  
[ Viktor Danilov, "Rabota na dolzhnom urovne," Ekspress K, 9 September 2003; in Integrum Techno database, http://www.integrum.ru.] {Entered 12/12/2003 CC}

7/31/2003: ARREST OF SUSPECTS ATTEMPTING TO SELL PLUTONIUM-239
Agents from the Kazakhstani National Security Committee (KNB) arrested two Kazakhs and one Russian for attempting to sell the radioactive isotope plutonium-239, Ekspress-K reported on 31 July 2003.  The arrests were the result of a surveillance operation.  The three suspects, two residents of Pavlodar, Kazakhstan and one native of Saratov Oblast in Russia, were arrested while making the transaction at a local train station in Pavlodar.  The two Kazakhs were reportedly selling the plutonium to the Russian. Police seized $20,000 in cash and an ampoule which a subsequent analysis showed to contain Pu-239.[1] A KNB spokesman later said that the isotope of plutonium seized is used in smoke detectors and "in no way can be used in the production of weapons of mass destruction."[2]  Charges have been filed against the three suspects.[1]
Sources:
[1] Asel Tulegenova, "Radioaktivnyy rynok," Ekspress K, 31 July 2003; in Integrum Techno, http://www.integrum.ru.
[2] "Spetssluzhby Kazakhstana pri popytke prodazhi izotopa plutoniya-239 zaderzhali 3 chelovek, v tom chisle grazhdanina Rossii." {Entered 12/12/2003 CC}   

5/2003: PLUTONIUM FROM AKTAU TO BE MOVED TO SEMIPALATINSK
An article in the May 2003 issue of Science reports that Kazakhstani and US officials are about to make an $80 million deal to transfer 3 metric tons (t) of "ivory grade" plutonium, containing more than 90% Pu-239, from Aktau to Semipalatinsk. The plutonium comes from the BN-350 breeder reactor at the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine (MAEK) and is contained in 300t of highly radioactive spent fuel. During the transportation procedure, which is likely to start in 2004 and continue until 2007, the spent fuel will be loaded into specially-manufactured containers and shipped by rail to the Semipalatinsk Test Site. According to Timur Zhantikin, chairman of the Kazakhstani Atomic Energy Committee, the spent fuel will be stored in underground silos at the Baykal-1 reactor complex.
[Richard Stone, "Save Haven for a Breeder's Plutonium Hoard," Science, Vol.300, 23 May 2003, pg. 1224.] {Entered 7/24/2003 AE}

2/25/2003: PRIME MINISTER REPORTS ON MEASURES TO DISPOSE OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
At a 25 February 2003 government meeting, Kazakhstani Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov reported that it may take the country 15-20 years to dispose of radioactive waste currently on Kazakhstani territory. Tasmagambetov noted that this process will start in 2004 with the preparation of a feasibility study of radioactive waste disposal measures. The report will also consider the possibility of importing low- and medium-level waste. Tasmagambetov instructed ministries and other governmental organizations to decide which uranium mining facilities should be given priority and to submit applications for funding from the 2004 budget. According to Kazakhstani Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Vladimir Shkolnik, the necessary funds to clear Kazakhstan's territory of all radioactive waste will total $1.15 billion.
["Premer Kazakhstana - za byudzhetnoye finansirovaniye programmy utilizatsii yadernykh otkhodov," Interfax, 25 February 2003.] {Entered 4/21/2003 AD}

6/18/2001: NUCLEAR WASTE IMPORT BILL PROPOSED
In a speech to the Kazakhstani parliament on 18 June 2001, Kazatomprom President Mukhtar Dzhakishev proposed an amendment to current Kazakhstani environmental legislation that would allow the import of low-level radioactive waste. The waste would be stored in abandoned uranium mines in Mangystau Oblast in western Kazakhstan and on the territory of the Semipalatinsk test site.[1,2] According to Dzhakishev, Kazakhstan needs approximately $1.1 billion to address environmental concerns related to radiation in the country. Importing radioactive waste may bring in $30-40 billion over a 25-30 year period.[1] On 29 June 2001 the parliament postponed hearings of the proposed bill until the Fall 2001 session and the authors withdrew it from consideration.[3] According to Dzhakishev the bill will be reintroduced in Fall 2001.[4] Dzhakishev also released a feasibility study concerning the construction of a nuclear waste reprocessing plant in Aktau, at an estimated cost of $150-200 million.[5] At a press conference on 16 August 2001, Kazakhstani scientists voiced their support for the idea of storing foreign spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in Kazakhstan. Opinion polls conducted in August showed increased public support for the measure in comparison to previous polls, with one third of the country's citizens unopposed to the import of nuclear waste from abroad and 10% undecided.[6] On 28 August 2001, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that he "does not rule out" the possibility of burying low- and medium-level radioactive waste in Kazakhstan, and that he supports Kazatomprom's initiative.[2] As of 13 September 2001, the Kazakhstani parliament was still considering the issue.[7]
Sources:
[1] "Kazakhstanu dlya ozdorovleniya radioekologicheskoy situatsii trebuyetsya okolo milliarda dollarov," Interfax-Novosti, 18 June 2001. 
[2] "Nazarbayev dopuskayet vozmozhnost zakhoroneniya radioaktivnykh otkhodov," Interfax-Novosti, 28 August 2001.
[3] "Vopros o zakhoronenii yadernykh otkhodov drugikh stran snyat s povestki dnya parlamenta Kazakhstana," Vremya Po, No. 564, 4 July 2001; in Integrum Techno, http://www.integrum.ru.
[4] "Kazakhstan ne nameren khranit vysokoaktivnyye radiatsionnyye otkhody," Interfax-Novosti, 25 July 2001.
[5] "V Kazakhstane razrabotano TEO proyekta stroitelstva kombinata po pererabotke radioaktivnykh otkhodov," Interfax-Novosti, 25 July 2001.
[6] Sergey Samokhvalov, "'Nedelimyy' Atom," Trud, 1 September 2001, p. 7; in WPS Materials Control and Accounting.
[7] Natalya Absalyamova, "Bezopasnost prevyshe reglamenta," Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, 13 September 2001; in Universal Database of Russian Newspapers, http://www.eastview.com.{Entered 9/21/01 DK}
 
12/20/99: US AND KAZAKHSTAN LAUNCH STUDY OF SPENT FUEL OPTIONS
For more information, see the 12/20/99 entry under Kazakhstan:  MAEK. {entered 2/15/00 NA}
 
2/10/98: RADIATION SAFETY LAW PASSED
On 10 February 1998, Kazakhstanskaya pravda reported that the law On the radiation safety of the population, which determines regulations for the maintenance of radiation safety in work with sources of ionizing radiation, food production, drinking water, and medical research, was accepted on the first reading. (The exact date of passage was not given.) The law also introduces a system of licensing, including implementation of technical inspection at facilities.
[Olga Kovalenko, "Radiatsiya v zakone?" Kazakhstanskaya pravda, no. 27, 10 February 1998.] {entered 9/21/98 FW}
 
4/30/96: CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL, NUCLEAR SECURITY APPROVED
Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev approved the Concept of Ecological Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan which sets forth the state's principles and priorities in forming environmental policies. The concept notes the existence of "an increasing danger...for the sustainable use of natural resources" in a number of regions, including the Semipalatinsk and Baykonur test ranges. The concept also says that Kazakhstan must apply its efforts to complete the negotiations on the Convention on Nuclear Security, conducted within the IAEA framework, for the purposes of the safe use of nuclear energy.
[Kazakhstanskaya pravda, "Concept of the Ecological Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan," 1 June 1996, p. 3;  in FBIS-SOV-96-125-S.]
 
4/4/96: DISCARDED RADIOACTIVE SOURCES SURVEYED
According to Bakhytzhan Berikbolov, head of the geological prospecting organization Volkovgeologiya and state holding company Zharys, a radiation survey conducted by Zharys has found 18 discarded radioactive devices with emissions from 1.8 to 700 roentgen/hour in eight of the 18 administrative centers surveyed. In Semipalatinsk, Atyrau, Aktyubinsk, and Khromtau, 18 road sites showed emission levels from 0.2 to 100 milliroentgen/hour due to contamination of road construction materials by cesium-137. 607 radioactive sources with emission ranges from 100 to 35,000 microroentgen/hour have been found on the grounds of kindergartens, schools, and other organizations. Currently, the survey has covered 60% of planned locations.
[Nataliya Todorova, "Uran nam drug ili vrag?," Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 4 April 1996, p. 5.]
 
2/96: RADIATION LEVEL IN KAZAKHSTAN
A recent study concluded that background radiation levels throughout Kazakhstan are within allowable limits. Though the report noted unusually high radiation levels during the 1986 Chornobyl incident and around the area of Semipalatinsk, research also indicated that these statistical anomalies measured well below allowable levels.
[Gyulnara Nurpeisova, "Background Radiation -- Within The Boundaries Of The Allowable," Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 7 February 1996, p. 2.]
 
10/95: STORAGE FACILITY NEEDED FOR USED RADIOACTIVE DEVICES
Tuseyn Ozhakhliyev, head of the Radiation Hygiene Division of Almaty's Sanitary and Epidemiological Directorate, stated that in Almaty there are more than 4,000 sources of radioactivity from technical devices (radioisotope devices) that have outlived their utility and are in need of disposal at special burial sites. However, no such facility exists in Kazakhstan, according to Ozhakhliyev, creating "gloomy" environmental conditions.
[FBIS-SOV-95-201, "'Gloomy' Outlook for Radioactive Waste Disposal," 12 October 1995.]
 
6/1/95: RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROBLEMS IN KAZAKHSTAN REPORTED
ITAR-TASS reported that 36,000 sources of radioactivity with a total emission yield of more than 10,000 Ci have been discovered on the grounds of 136 different organizations in Almaty. According to the report, radioactive devices and other sources of radioactivity which are no longer in use, were either dumped together with industrial waste or kept on the premises of the respective organizations. The report states that the waste facility belonging to the Institute of Nuclear Physics is already at capacity, and that four tons of waste (7,500 Ci) still await disposal.
[FBIS-SOV-95-105, "36,000 Sources of Radioactivity Discovered in Almaty," 1 June 1995.]
 
4/94: GOVERNMENT REGULATION ON THE SAFE USE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
The Cabinet of Ministers of Kazakhstan adopted Provisional Regulations On the Utilization of Atomic Energy; Nuclear Activities; Treatment of Radioactive Wastes and Spent Fuel; and Radioactive Safety of Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The regulations, which were adopted in order to coordinate the activities of various governmental bodies in the utilization of nuclear energy, were intended to stop the illegal use of nuclear materials and to provide safe use of nuclear energy.
[Y. Kasenov, D. Eleukenov, M. Laumulin, "Kazakhstan and the NPT," (Almaty, 1994).]
 
11/11/94: GOVERNMENT PASSES RESOLUTION ON LICENSING PROCEDURES FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
A resolution on the procedure for obtaining a temporary license to dispose of radioactive waste in the Republic of Kazakhstan was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. According to the resolution, in order to obtain a temporary license for the disposal of radioactive waste, an enterprise must submit the necessary documents to the Ministry of Ecology and Biological Resources. The resolution established that a temporary license should be issued (or withheld) within 30 days and be valid for six months.
[Panorama, 19 November 1994, p. 1; in FBIS-SOV-94-227, "Licenses Required to Bury Radioactive Waste," 19 November 1994.]
 
1992: GOVERNMENTAL MEASURES TO DEAL WITH RADIOACTIVE WASTE
A decree was issued On Emergency Measures For Amelioration of Radioactive Situation in Kazakhstan, and the state scientific and technological program, Atomic Energy, Atomic Science and Technology, Radioactive Ecology, was developed. The following was done to implement these programs: development of a plan for radioactive waste storage and the compilation of a national radioactive waste catalog; reconstruction of temporary storage facilities for irradiation capsules (nearing completion) at Kurchatov; airborne mapping of gamma radiation over an area 670,000 sq. km.; and radiation, geological, hydrological and lithological chemical mapping of an area of 250,000 sq. km. In addition, geological passports (profiles) have been compiled for nuclear explosion test sites. The construction of an automated "Reflex" radiation monitoring system in the Mangystau region, which will be connected to other state monitoring systems, is nearing completion.
[Report done for CISNP, Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency, 7 July 1995.] {Revised 3/28/97 JWRL}