Bank For Low Enriched Uranium Launched In Kazakhstan

By Siti Radziah Hamzah ASTANA, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Kazakhstan on Tuesday jointly launched a Low Enriched Uranium Bank (LEU Bank), a US$150 million facility, to assure supply mechanism of last resort. The LEU Bank, located in Oskemen, Northeastern Kazakhstan, will store a stockpile of up to 90 metric tonnes of low enriched uranium, suitable for the production of fuel for a typical light water reactor, the most widely-used type of nuclear power reactor, worldwide. The LEU will be supplied to IAEA members which are unable to procure the raw material from the commercial market. "This is a very complex project which has involved the negotiation of a number of agreements. The cooperation with Russia and China is important for the shipment of LEU to the bank's location," IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano told a press conference after the LEU Bank was opened by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, via video conference, on the day the world marked International Day Against Nuclear Tests. Located at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP) in Oskemen, UMP is a licenced nuclear site, complete with infrastructure to safely and securely store, transport and process LEU. The IAEA LEU Bank would be established once the basic ingredient to fabricate nuclear fuel, is purchased and delivered to the storage facility, which is fully guarded by the national security agency. "For the procurement of the low enriched uranium, we are aiming to issue a proposed request soon. This will be done in complete transparency, via open tender and strictly in accordance with UN procurement practices," said Amano. Safety during transportation and storage would be ensured by the use of special durable containers which prevent any leakage of radioactive materials and provide a complete shield against radiation from the low enriched uranium. LEU, the basic ingredient to fabricate nuclear fuel, is made by naturally enriching uranium to improve its ability to produce energy. The LEU that will be stored in the IAEA LEU Bank would be enriched up to nominally 4.95 per cent. The agreement to establish the LEU bank was signed on August 27, 2015 by Kazakhstan and the IAEA. Apart from the LEU Bank, other assurance of supply mechanisms established with IAEA approval included a guaranteed physical reserve of LEU maintained by Russia at the International Uranium Enrichment Centre in Angarsk and a United Kingdom assurance of supply guarantee for supplies of LEU enrichment services. The United States also maintained LEU reserves. -- BERNAMA