Libya Nuclear Facilities

For nearly three decades, Libya successfully disguised nuclear weapons activities alongside a peaceful nuclear program. Despite possessing few relevant indigenous resources, Libya constructed and operated a number of nuclear facilities through extensive (and often illicit) importation of the necessary materials and technologies — until 2003 these activities were part of a concerted effort to acquire nuclear weapons. Today, Libya possesses a small peaceful nuclear program, heavily focused on research into seawater desalination.

Relevant Individuals and Institutions

Muammar Qadhafi, who has controlled Libya's government since 1969, founded the nuclear program and continues to possess ultimate authority over all important decisions. Matoug M. Matoug, Secretary of the General People's Committee and Secretary of the National Board of Scientific Research (NBSR), has been the official head of Libya's nuclear program since 1995. Matoug also served as the Libyan government's representative in 2003 meetings with the Director General of the IAEA. [1] Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi and Foreign Minister Abd al-Rahman Shalgham are often key players in bilateral and multilateral negotiations relating to the nuclear program. [2] The legislature defers to the executive branch on decisions concerning Libya's nuclear program and has no meaningful oversight role. [3] Libya's intelligence agency likely plays only a minimal role in the post-2003 nuclear program, but in the past it helped acquire outside information on nuclear technology to further Libyan weapons procurement. Musa Kusa is Qadhafi's chief of intelligence and was one of the chief negotiators in the 2003 dismantlement process.

Funding for the Nuclear Program

Funding details on Libya's abandoned clandestine program are incomplete, but in an interview with the Sunday Times, Saif Qadhafi claimed Libya had spent roughly $40 million on its nuclear program. [4] Libya purchased equipment and technology from the A.Q. Khan network and a number of different countries, ranging from centrifuges to nuclear weapon design plans. The exact cost of the nuclear weapon design plans is unknown. [5] According to Western officials, Libya also paid Pakistani scientists as much as $100 million for their technical assistance over several years beginning in the late 1990s. [6] Information on current budget allocations for the Libyan nuclear program is unavailable in open source literature, as Libya's budgetary process is highly opaque.

Libya's Past, Present, and Planned Nuclear Facilities

In 1973, the Atomic Energy Establishment (AEE) of Libya was formed. The main purpose of the AEE was to build Libya's nuclear science infrastructure and technology. According to an IAEA report, the aim of the program was to promote the use of peaceful applications of nuclear energy. [7] The Libyan Secretariat of Atomic Energy (SAE) was founded in January 1981, and the AEE was placed under its authority. Between 1986 and 2003, governmental entities charged with implementing Libya's nuclear policies changed identities frequently, but the SAE continues to maintain supervisory control over the nuclear program.

The SAE established the Tajoura Nuclear Research Center (TNRC) in 1983 "to solve problems of economic significance to the country via peaceful application of atomic energy." [8] Although a declared facility officially under IAEA safeguards, the TNRC was at the center of Libya's nuclear weapons program. It housed clandestine uranium enrichment, plutonium separation, and gas-centrifuge technologies. [9]

In 2003, Libya halted its uranium enrichment program and fully submitted to IAEA inspections. The extent of Libya's clandestine nuclear complex only became known to the international community upon the IAEA Director General's 2004 visit, when Libya revealed ten additional sites that had contributed to its illicit weapons efforts: Al-Hashan was Libya's first L-1 gas centrifuge research, development and limited testing location, operational from 1997 to 2002. Al-Khalla succeeded Al-Hashan as the new location for centrifuge research and development and was used to store UF6. Salah Eddin was the new site, after being moved from Al-Khalla, for the uranium conversion facility supplied by Japan in the 1980s. Janzour was a machine shop for centrifuge manufacture. Sabha was an underground storage facility for yellowcake. Sawani was the first storage location for the UCF and centrifuge equipment. Al-Karamia was the first storage location for UCF modules. El-Ezeizia was the original construction materials storage location. [10]

On 19 December 2003, Libya agreed to declare all nuclear activities to the IAEA, allow verification and inspection, and to eliminate its nuclear weapons program. Prior to Libya's 2003 decision to renounce weapons of mass destruction, the United Kingdom and United States had undertaken limited efforts with Qadhafi's regime to "build trust and reciprocity" so that a comprehensive disarmament deal would be possible in the future. [11] The post-2003 dismantlement process built on these efforts. [12] In 2004, the American and British governments worked with the IAEA to remove all nuclear-related equipment and materials from Libya. This process, conducted in three stages, focused on removing the most proliferation-sensitive materials and technologies from Libya first. It was completed in September 2004. [13]

Libya's nuclear program was (and continues to be) managed out of the National Board for Scientific Research (NBSR) headquarters. The National Board for Scientific Research has several different names, such as the National Bureau of Research and Development, but it is primarily responsible for Libya's higher education and research, maintaining production levels, strategic studies, and infrastructure. The organization recruits scientific expertise and coordinates nuclear research with other research institutes within Libya. Currently, Dr. Ali Mohamed Gashut is the Director General. [14] Outside of the REWDRC, some of the Nuclear Research Universities affiliated with the National Board for Scientific Research include Al- Fateh, the Department of Physics in Tripoli, the University of Garyounis Physics Department in Benghazi, and the Omar Al-Mukhtar University Department of Physics and Mathematics in El-Bieda. [15]

The site formerly known as the Tajoura Nuclear Research Center (TNRC), which served as the headquarters for Libya's covert nuclear weapons program, is also the center of Libya's post-2003 peaceful nuclear program. In 2003, the TNRC merged with the Water Desalination Treatment Research Center and the Solar Studies Center to become the Renewable Energies and Water Desalination Research Center (REWDRC). [16] The REWDRC specializes in research and development of the nuclear fuel cycle, utilization of nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes, research into renewable energies, and the desalination of seawater. Although it is unclear how many people presently work at the REWDRC, in 1979 the then TNRC employed 750 Libyan scientists and technicians. [17]

Currently, no open source evidence indicates the existence of operational uranium mining, uranium milling, uranium conversion, fuel fabrication or reprocessing facilities in Libya. [18] Should Libya choose to undertake uranium mining in the future, the Murzuq basin, Sarir Tibisti trough and Al Kufra basin are possible sources. However, these sites primarily contain iron ore mineral deposits. [19] The REWDRC still has a hot cell facility and equipment for large-scale radioisotope production and processing-equipment that was used for illicit plutonium extraction experiments in the 1980s. The REWDRC also hosts six chemical boxes, "available for handling beta and gamma emitting isotopes at millicurie levels," suggesting that the facility may still have limited reprocessing capabilities. [20]

Resultant to its burgeoning interest in nuclear power and other peaceful nuclear applications, Libya has undertaken several technical cooperation agreements with the IAEA, including projects to improve the REWDRC's nuclear safety and personnel training. Additionally, several different countries have offered to assist Libya in developing its desalination capabilities. France and Libya began negotiating a deal involving a desalination program and possibly a nuclear reactor in 2005, when French President Sarkozy met with Qadhafi to discuss the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding. In February 2007, the National Bureau for Research and Development (NBRD) signed a memorandum of understanding with France's Commissariat à l'énergie atomique and Areva for a program that would focus on desalinizing sea water, uranium exploration and production. In 2008, Tripoli consulted France and other foreign partners on the possible establishment of a medical isotope center, but no additional information has been released on the proposed project, suggesting negotiations have not yet yielded productive results. [21]

To undertake a nuclear power program, Libya must first meet the required technical, legislative, regulatory and training specifications before foreign investors will provide assistance. A new nuclear facility has yet to be constructed in Libya and the details of the French proposal for a nuclear reactor remain undisclosed; however, some reports claim the Libyans requested an EPR, Areva's 1,600-MW-class four-loop PWR. [22] Other reports state that Areva's Transmission and Distribution unit plans to strengthen Libya's power distribution network, but these rumors remain unconfirmed. [23] In 2007, Libya's ambassador indicated to the IAEA Board of Governors that it would be ten to fifteen years before his country constructed any nuclear power reactors. [24] In June and July 2009, Libya successfully negotiated civil nuclear cooperation agreements with Canada and Ukraine, with the goal of producing nuclear energy and desalinating seawater. [25] As of May 2010, there have been no significant developments regarding construction of new nuclear facilities in Libya.

Sources:
[1] "Libya Profile," Institute for Security Studies, www.iss.co.za.
[2] IAEA, "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," Report by the Director General, 20 February 2004, www.iaea.org.
[3] "Background Note: Libya," Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State, October 2007.
[4] "Libya Purchased Nuclear Weapons Plans From Pakistan, Qadhafi's Son Says," Global Security Newswire, 5 January 2004.
[5] "Libya Purchased Nuclear Weapons Plans From Pakistan, Qadhafi's Son Says," Global Security Newswire, 5 January 2004.
[6] "Libya Purchased Nuclear Weapons Plans From Pakistan, Qadhafi's Son Says," Global Security Newswire, 5 January 2004.
[7] IAEA, "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," Report by the Director General, 12 September 2008, www.iaea.org.
[8] "Tajoura Nuclear Research Center," Global Security, 2005, www.globalsecurity.org.
[9] Peter Crail, "Chronology of Libya's Disarmament and Relations with the United States," Arms Control Association, 2008.
[10] This list of previously undeclared facilities and their uses is taken from the 2004 IAEA Director General's report on Libya. See: IAEA, "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," Report by the Director General, 20 February 2004, pp. 9-10, www.iaea.org.
[11] Nuclear Programmes in the Middle East: In the Shadow of Iran, ed. Mark Fitzpatrick, London: the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2008, p. 103.
[12] Nuclear Programmes in the Middle East: In the Shadow of Iran, ed. Mark Fitzpatrick, London: the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2008, p. 104.
[13] Nuclear Programmes in the Middle East: In the Shadow of Iran, ed. Mark Fitzpatrick, London: the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2008, p. 104.
[14] "Contact Information: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," World Intellectual Property Organization, September 2008, www.wipo.int.
[15] "Nuclear Research in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," www.iaea.org, 2004.
[16] "Renewable Energies and Water Desalination Research Center," 2008, www.tnrc.org.
[17] "Tajoura Nuclear Research Center," Global Security, 2005, www.globalsecurity.org.
[18] "Libya Country Profile: Nuclear Facilities Profile," Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2007, www.sipri.org.
[19] "Libya Country Profile 2000-01," The Economist Intelligence Unit, www.eiu.com.
[20] "Libya Country Profile: Nuclear Facilities Profile," Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2007, www.sipri.org.
[21] Nuclear Programmes in the Middle East: In the Shadow of Iran, ed. Mark Fitzpatrick, London: the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2008, p. 106.
[22] Ann McLachlan, "France, Libya initial nuclear pact, emphasize infrastructure-building," Platts Nucleonics Week, Vol. 48, No. 50, 13 December 2007.
[23] Ann McLachlan, "France, Libya initial nuclear pact, emphasize infrastructure-building," Platts Nucleonics Week, Vol. 48, No. 50, 13 December 2007.
[24] Nuclear Programmes in the Middle East: In the Shadow of Iran, ed. Mark Fitzpatrick, London: the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2008, p. 97.
[25] "Libya, Ukraine Sign Nuclear Power Deal," Agence France-Presse, 26 May 2009; "Libya and Canada Sign Nuclear Deal," Agence France-Presse, 30 July 2009.