The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said last week it in May hosted at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) an on-site inspection activity for Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) inspection experts.
CTBT experts from over 30 countries visited NNSS for three days to study nuclear explosive test indicators and other field experimental operations at the site, NNSA said. Experts from the Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Pacific Northwest, and Sandia national laboratories also contributed, NNSA said. NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz said at an international conference last year his agency would work to host more classes for inspectors at the site.
Anne Harrington, the agency’s deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, said in the statement, “Inviting the CTBT on-site inspection experts to NNSS for training allows us to make valuable contributions in strengthening the capabilities to detect and deter nuclear explosive testing around the world.”
LEU Fuel Bank in Kazakhstan to be Operational in September 2017
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Kazakhstan this week signed a partnership agreement that sets in motion preparations for the IAEA’s low-enriched uranium (LEU) storage facility to be operational by September 2017.
The fuel bank in Kazakhstan will be “a supplier of last resort” of LEU to IAEA member states in the event they are unable to commercially obtain the fuel. Authorized in 2010, the bank will host up to 90 metric tons of LEU, which can be used as fuel for light-water nuclear power reactors and will remain under IAEA safeguards. A reliable fuel supply would also keep states from pursuing their own uranium enrichment technology and would therefore prevent nuclear proliferation, the IAEA has said. A host state agreement with Kazakhstan was signed last August.
Alexander Khodanov, sales director of the Ulba Metallurgical Plant, said in an IAEA statement, “We expect to receive the necessary approvals from the relevant Kazakhstan authorities, and have the facility built and ready for operation by September 2017.”
The Ulba Metallurgical Plant developed the design for the storage facility and its equipment, the IAEA statement said. The agency’s experts determined during an on-site visit in March that this design meets IAEA safety and security standards, it said.
