Nuclear fuel bank in Kazakh site under international control
Astana (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Kazakhstan is set to host a new nuclear fuel bank. The formal signature of the agreement by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the host-state is expected in late August. The new facility is meant to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation and ensure international cooperation in the field of atomic energy.
The official ceremony to launch the nuclear fuel bank to be held in Kazakhstan on 27 August 2015. Kazakh authorities will host Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as representatives of Iran and the six nations* involved in the agreement reached in Vienna on 14 July on the Iranian nuclear programme. Indeed, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrissov said that the decision is part of the agreement reached in Vienna.
“This is a significant milestone in global nuclear cooperation that will enable peaceful uses of nuclear energy while reducing the risks of proliferation and catastrophic terrorism,” said former US Senator Sam Nunn, co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI).
“If the dozens of countries interested in nuclear energy also choose to pursue uranium enrichment, the risk of proliferation of dangerous nuclear materials and weapons would grow beyond the tipping point. This has been our experience with Iran. The IAEA LEU Bank now gives countries an alternative to that choice and direction.””
Back in 2009, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested hosting an international nuclear fuel bank on Kazakh territory. The idea was approved of by the IAEA in 2011.
Under the agreement, low-enriched uranium (LEU) will be stored at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in north-eastern Kazakhstan, a facility that will be owned and controlled by the IAEA. The deal includes a transit agreement with the Russian Federation to permit the transport of IAEA LEU to and from the bank through its territory.
A nuclear fuel bank would provide less developed countries access to enriched nuclear fuel, without the need for them to possess enrichment technology. The basic concept is that countries who do have enrichment technology would donate enriched fuel to a "bank", from which countries not possessing enrichment technology would obtain fuel for their power reactors.
A key principle of the bank is that it must not distort the open market. Once a state has agreed to a supply agreement with the IAEA, it must pay the full cost of re-stocking the LEU stored in the bank. This should prevent countries from expanding their own nuclear programme.
The IAEA LEU Bank is fully funded by voluntary contributions including US$ 50 million from the US-based NTI, US$ 49 million from the United States, up to US$ 25 million from the European Union, US$ 10 million each from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and US$ 5 million from Norway.
Owned and controlled by the IAEA but operated by Kazakhstan, the bank's safety and security will be governed by Kazakhstan's legal and regulatory requirements. It must also comply with applicable IAEA safety standards and security guidance, and will be subject to IAEA safeguards.
The Ulba facility will be a physical reserve of up to 90 tonnes of LEU, available to IAEA member states should they find themselves unable to obtain LEU on the commercial market.
Members requesting LEU from the bank must meet a set of criteria approved by the IAEA's board. The requesting state must have in place, and be in compliance with, a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the IAEA, and the LEU it receives cannot be enriched, processed, retransferred or re-exported without IAEA agreement.
* The six nations are the United States, Russia, China, France, Great Britain and Germany.
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