IAEA develops draft agreement on LEU bank with Kazakhstan

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

The International Atomic Energy Agency has developed a draft Host State Agreement between the IAEA and Kazakhstan establishing the IAEA low enriched uranium bank, as well as a draft Transit Agreement between the IAEA and Russia.

This was announced by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano on June 8.

Speaking at the opening of the regular session of the IAEA Board of Governors, he said that the draft agreements with Kazakhstan and Russia have been presented to consideration of the Board, RIA Novosti reported.

"The conclusion of the two agreements represents a significant milestone for this important project, enabling us to proceed to full-scale implementation. Two related technical agreements are also near to finalization. I expect these to be signed at the same time as the Host State Agreement," Amano said.

The agenda of the current session of the Board of Governors includes the establishment of the IAEA bank of low enriched uranium from which the organization will be able to provide low enriched uranium for its members, thus ensuring security of supply.

Earlier Timur Zhantikin, the deputy chairman of the Atomic Control Committee at Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said the actual arrival of nuclear material in Kazakhstan is expected in 2017.

He explained the two years gap in the project realization by noting that although the agreement has been signed now, it will still need to go to parliament for ratification.

Then, it will be finalized in terms of technical issues, meaning that it will be once again checked for compliance with the IAEA standards. This lengthy process will mean that the actual arrival of nuclear material in Kazakhstan is expected in 2017.

The nuclear fuel bank is expected to be based on Kazakhstan’s Ulba Metallurgical Plant. UMP is a member of the Kazatomprom National Atomic Company and produces fuel pellets for nuclear power plants.

Astana initiated the placement of a nuclear fuel bank on the territory of Kazakhstan under the auspices of the IAEA in 2009. The bank envisages the storage of low enriched uranium for the production of fuel elements for nuclear power plant in a gaseous form that does not pose any radiation threat. Any country seeking to develop nuclear energy will be able to apply to Kazakhstan with a request for fuel for its own nuclear power plant.

Kazakhstan holds the second largest uranium reserves in the world. Kazatomprom said earlier that around 5,590 tons of uranium was produced in Kazakhstan in the second quarter of 2013, which represents an increase of 9 percent over the same period in 2012.

Kazatomprom is the Kazakh national operator for the import and export of uranium and its compounds, rare metals, nuclear fuel for power plants, special equipment, technologies and dual-use materials.