Khushab Heavy Water Production Facility
| Other Name: | N/A |
|---|---|
| Location: | Khushab District, Punjab; Approximately 200km SW of Islamabad |
| Subordinate To: | Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) |
| Size: | Unknown |
| Facility Status: | Operational |
Pakistan allegedly produces heavy water at the Khushab complex, near the Khushab-1 and Khushab-2 plutonium production reactors. The facility reportedly commenced operations in April 1998, [2] and has an estimated production capacity of between 50 and 100 tons of heavy water per year. [3] Before operations began, China allegedly oversupplied Pakistan with heavy water for the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP), which Pakistan then diverted to Khushab-1. [4] Like Khushab-1 and Khushab-2, this facility is not under IAEA safeguards.
Sources:
[1] David Albright and Paul Brannan, "Pakistan Appears to be Building a Fourth Military Reactor at the Khushab Nuclear Site," Institute for Science and International Security, 9 February 2011, www.isis-online.org.
[2] Nuclear Black Markets: Pakistan, A.Q. Khan and the Rise of Proliferation Networks (International Institute for Strategic Studies: London, 2007).
[3] Simon Beck, "Chinese heavy water linked to military plutonium-processing plant," South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), 16 May 1998, www.lexisnexis.com.
[4] "Analysis of IKONOS Imagery of the Newly-Identified Heavy Water Plant at Khushab, Pakistan," Institute for Science and International Security, 16 March 2000, www.isis-online.org.
This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright © 2011 by MIIS.
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Pakistan
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