Name: IRT-5000 Fuel Pond
Other Names: Waste Storage for IRT
Address/Location: Building 40[1]
Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Size: Contained fuel racks to hold the spent fuel from the IRT-5000 reactor
Primary Function: Storage facility of IRT-5000 fuel
Description:
This fuel pond is the storage location for IRT-5000 research reactor fuel. It contained the reactor core and fuel storage racks and was still intact after the coalition air strikes, but it was filled with debris. In November 1991, the pond was cleaned out, and all the fresh fuel for the IRT-5000 was removed from Iraq.[2]
Key Sources:
[1] The IRT-5000 research reactor is located in Tuwaitha's Building 13.
[2] Consolidated Report on the First Two IAEA Inspections Under Security Council Resolution 687 (1991) of Iraqi Nuclear Capabilities, UN Doc S/22788, 11 July 1991, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/
reports/S_22788.pdf>; and "Nuclear Capabilities of Iraq—the IAEA Plan of Action," IAEA, April 1992, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Press/Booklets/
Iraq/iaeaplan.html>.
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Name: Location B
Other Names: Garf Al-Naddaf
Address/Location: Several miles from the Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Size: Consists of pits in a farmland area and contains at least 16 storage tanks
Primary Function: Irradiation fuel storage facility
Description:
Location B emergency storage is made up of pits in a farmland area several miles away from the Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center. This storage facility contained spent fuel from the Tammuz-2 research reactor and associated pond.[3]
The irradiated fuel at Location B was reportedly stored under normally unacceptable conditions. Radiation levels were unusually high, and the storage lacked water treatment and suitable containers.[4]
Key Sources:
[3] Consolidated Report on the First Two IAEA Inspections Under Security Council Resolution 687 (1991) of Iraqi Nuclear Capabilities, UN Doc S/22788, 11 July 1991, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/
reports/S_22788.pdf>; and "Nuclear Capabilities of Iraq—the IAEA Plan of Action," IAEA, April 1992, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Press/Booklets/
Iraq/iaeaplan.html>.
[4] Ibid.
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Name: Permanent Solid Waste Storage
Other Names:
Address/Location: Building 39
Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Primary Function: Permanent waste storage
Description:
Iraq declared this building to be a store. IAEA inspectors concurred, determining it to be a permanent solid waste storage facility.[5]
Key Sources:
[5] Consolidated Report on the First Two IAEA Inspections Under Security Council Resolution 687 (1991) of Iraqi Nuclear Capabilities, UN Doc S/22788, 11 July 1991, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/
reports/S_22788.pdf>.
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Name: Radioactive Waste Treatment Station (RWTS)[6]
Address/Location: Building 35
Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Primary Function: Treatment facility for radioactive waste
Description:
The RTWS may have been developed in the early 80s by the French who assisted Iraq on several related projects at Al-Tuwaitha. The precise size of the facility is not clear, nor its uses, but reportedly it was partially damaged during the Gulf War. At the end of hostilities RTWS also retained two hot cells in good condition, with the machinery inside the station undamaged. The cells were not equipped with manipulators and were equipped for the specialized waste treatment process consistent with the declared use of the building.[7]
Key Sources:
[6] Consolidated Report on the First Two IAEA Inspections Under Security Council Resolution 687 (1991) of Iraqi Nuclear Capabilities, UN Doc S/22788, 11 July 1991, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/
reports/S_22788.pdf>.
[7] David Albright, Corey Gay, and Khidhir Hamza, "Development of the Al-Tuwaitha Site: What If the Public or the IAEA had Overhead Imagery?" Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), 26 April 1999.
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Name: Waste Treatment and Storage Facility
Address/Location: Building 36
Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Subordinate to: Al-Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center
Primary Function: Permanent waste storage
Description:
Building 36 was determined to be a waste treatment and storage facility. During an IAEA inspection, a collection of uranium bearing air filters, sintering furnaces and glove boxes was found in the building.[8]
Key Sources:
[8] Report on the 18th IAEA On-Site Inspection in Iraq under Security Council Resolution 687, UN Doc S/25666, 26 April 1993, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/
reports/s_25666.pdf>.
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Updated December 2003 |
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