The IAEA Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan accepts the first shipment of material for storage

On October 16, 2019, in Ust-Kamenogorsk, a ceremony was held marking the delivery of the first shipment of low enriched uranium (LEU) to the Low Enriched Uranium Bank of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Kazakhstan (LEU Bank), with representatives of the Agency participating.

The international project of creating the LEU Bank in Kazakhstan was successfully implemented at the initiative of the First President of Kazakhstan - Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The IAEA LEU Bank will store 90 metric tons of uranium hexafluoride suitable for manufacturing the fuel for a standard light-water reactor at nuclear power plants. This LEU reserve is not a radioactive waste, does not pose a threat to the population and the environment and is provided in case the IAEA member states are faced with the cessation of traditional fuel delivery for political reasons.

Thanks to the investments of Kazakhstan and the IAEA, necessary infrastructure for safe storage of the material has been created at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant, which has many years of experience in this area.

The IAEA LEU Bank is an important contribution of Kazakhstan, as well as a confirmation of its leading role in strengthening international security and nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Kazakhstani company Kazatomprom and French company Orano Cycle are the suppliers of the material for the IAEA LEU Bank. 

Signing of the documents between Kazakhstan and the IAEA on the establishment of the IAEA LEU Bank took place in August, 2015, in the capital of Kazakhstan during the visit of the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano.