The Governing Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved an agreement with Kazakhstan on establishment of the Bank of low-enriched uranium (LEU), the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan reported earlier in the week.
The Bank will be located at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk that is in the northeast of Kazakhstan, the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan stated.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, commenting on the decision, stressed the importance of creation of the Bank of LEU, which will provide the Member States of the IAEA with access to fuel in case of impossibility of purchase on the global commercial market.
“Gratitude was expressed to Kazakhstan for its constructive cooperation and contribution to creation of the Bank. Attention is drawn to the fact that our country is a world leader in production of uranium, has the necessary experience in the nuclear field and has highly qualified personnel,” the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan said.
Speaking at the same meeting, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna Kairat Sarybai noted that the project to establish the Bank of LEU in Kazakhstan is unique and has no analogues in history.
Creating international reserves of low-enriched uranium under the auspices of the Agency will allow all of its Member States to obtain guaranteed access to nuclear fuel without infringing their sovereign right to develop their own peaceful nuclear energy programs in accordance with the provisions of the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty and the IAEA Statute.
Signing of the Agreement on Establishment of the Bank of LEU is tentatively scheduled for the end of August 2015.
According to the Director General of the IAEA, about two years will take to finalise work on creation and opening of the repository after signing of the document.
“The Central element of the Bank is the physical inventory of low-enriched uranium of the standard commercial specification with the uranium enrichment 235 up to 4.95% in the form of hexafluoride, which will be enough for about one full load of the active zone of the reactor or three reloads of the reactor with water under the capacity pressure of 1000 MW. The IAEA will be the owner of the low-enriched uranium stored in the Bank, the LEU will be under its control and at its official legal property. The Bank will be located at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk”, the Foreign Ministry said.
At the same time, the ambassador-at-large of the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan Burlybai Sadykov speaking on Monday at a press-conference in Astana, noted that the Bank of low-enriched uranium (LEU) in Kazakhstan is not interesting for terrorists and is not harmful for the environment. “Placement of the Bank in Ust-Kamenogorsk, according to the experts of IAEA and Kazakhstan, does not carry a threat to the safety of the environment and population of the region. The low-enriched uranium is not a radioactive waste, it is not attractive for terrorists, as it cannot be used in production of nuclear weapon without corresponding technology, infrastructure and enrichment”, Sadykov said.
He noted that representatives of interested ministries and agencies of Kazakhstan had been talking to the representatives of the IAEA front office for four years on accommodation of the text of the agreement. The text was approved and accepted by the government decree April 27 this year.
“The IAEA will be the owner of the uranium stored in the Bank, the material will be fully at the property of the IAEA”, the speaker added.
Moreover, the sales director of the Ulba Metallurgical Plant Alexandr Khodanov also spoke at the press-conference in Astana. He informed that the Bank of low-enriched uranium (LEU) in Kazakhstan will cost the former Soviet republic about 10,000 per year. “The expenses will be minimum, indeed. As for strengthening the physical protection, all the activities will be funded by the IAEA. We will bear the costs on maintenance of the area, electrical energy, heating. It is about $10,000 per annum,” – Khodanov stated.
According to the ambassador-at-large of MFA of Kazakhstan Barlybai Sadykov, financing of the project to establish the bank of low-enriched uranium will cost $150 million and is made up by voluntary contributions of countries and organisations.
“Funding for this project is made up by voluntary contributions of the following countries and organisations: ‘Initiative to reduce the nuclear threat’ Foundation – $50 million, Norway – $5 million, the US – $49.54 million, the UAE – $10 million, the EU – up to €25 million, and Kuwait – $10 million. Kazakhstan will bear the costs only for storage of nuclear material. Financial calculations have not carried out yet,” Sadykov said.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/iaea-approves-placement-of-low-enriched-uranium-bank-in-kazakhstan/