Сooperation of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the CTBTO
On September 30, 1996, the Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan K. Tokayev signed the CTBT. The agreement was ratified by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 270-II of December 14, 2001 and entered into force for Kazakhstan on May 14, 2002.
Kazakhstan’s efforts to universalize the CTBT and facilitate its ratification by other states are connected with almost all the main elements of the verification regime:
In accordance with the Protocol to the CTBT, Kazakhstan completed the construction of five new IMS stations during the period 1999-2006: four seismic and one infrasound. As a result of these works, in Kazakhstan successfully operate:
- one station of the main seismic network PS23-Makanchi - seismic group (since 2000);
- three stations of the auxiliary seismic network: AS057-Borovoye - seismic group, a reserve to the main network (since 2002), AS058-Kurchatov - seismic group (since 2006), AS059-Aktyubinsk - a three-component station (since 2005);
- station of the infrasound network IS031-Aktyubinsk (since 2001).
All these stations have successfully passed international certification in the period from 2002 to 2006 and operate in a round-the-clock continuous mode.
In addition, in support of the CTBT and within the framework of the Agreement with the USA, two more seismic groups were built: Akbulak in Western Kazakhstan and Karatau in Southern Kazakhstan. In addition, another 11 stations have been restored, modernized and are functioning as potential collaborating national facilities.
Thus, two (one seismic and one infrasound) out of the four control technologies, used in the International Monitoring System, are in Kazakhstan.
On November 29, 2017 in Nur-Sultan, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada on the Property Contribution to the Radionuclide Noble Gas Monitoring Station to strengthen control over the implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
Delivery and installation of this station in the form of a mobile container on the basis of the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan is expected in 2020, after which experts plan to certify the station to connect it to the CTBTO International Monitoring Network.
The data center in Almaty, created with the support of the CTBTO and the Norwegian Institute of Geophysical and Seismological Research NORSAR, is in constant contact with IMS and IDC. The communication network includes 132 communication channels that provide automated data collection in real time from all Kazakhstan monitoring stations.
The Data Center publishes newsletters of various immediacy, databases of various thematic focus (reference events, nuclear explosions, etc.). Operational processing and analysis of infrasound monitoring data is carried out on a regular basis. Systematic data exchange with 7 international and national data centers is underway.
Since June 21, 2010, on the basis of the Kazakhstan National Data Center, a Regional Training Center has been opened and is currently operating for specialists of Central Asian countries to process nuclear monitoring data. This project was implemented jointly with the Norwegian Government and the PTS of the CTBTO.
At the initiative of Kazakhstan and in accordance with the decision of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, four field experiments were carried out in the Republic of Kazakhstan during on-site inspections: in 1999, in 2002, in 2005 and in 2008.
Kazakhstan provided the territory of the former Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS) for conducting field experiments, which contributed to the conduct of exercises in conditions close to real ones.
It should be noted that the experiment conducted in Kazakhstan in 1999 was the first in the history of the CTBTO and was held with the participation of representatives of 7 states.
The 2008 field experiment in Kazakhstan was the biggest, the results of which were important for improving the on-site inspection guidelines.
Training of Kazakhstani specialists in the courses organized by the PTS.
In the period 1998-2015, about 70 Kazakhstani specialists completed internships and training courses organized by the PTS CTBTO in Kazakhstan, Austria, Germany, Japan, France, Russia, Norway, the USA, China and other countries.
The use of nuclear monitoring data for civilian purposes.
Thanks to the creation of the nuclear testing monitoring system, a significant amount of new seismicity data has been received and is being collected throughout Kazakhstan. This new data has led to new results.
There is a need for adjusting the map of seismic zoning of Kazakhstan and the regulations for earthquake-resistant construction in different regions. The data obtained allows us to exercise control over the security of the Caspian Sea region, where oil production is conducted, and to control the post-explosion processes in the territory of the former Semipalatinsk test site.
Based on the analysis of monitoring data, catalogs of industrial explosions for Kazakhstani quarries were formed.
On August 29, 2018, on the International Day against Nuclear Tests and the closing day of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, a conference of the Youth Group and the Group of Eminent Persons of the CTBTO was held in Nur-Sultan with a visit to the facilities of the former Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kurchatov. Both events were aimed at implementing the antinuclear initiatives of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, promoting the establishment of a general ban on nuclear testing, and highlighting the unprecedented contribution of our country to the process of global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
On August 29, 2019, in the decade of the establishment of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Nur-Sultan hosted the Nazarbayev Prize for a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World and Global Security, the laureate of which was the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Lassina Zerbo. The ceremony was attended by well-known international figures in the field of international security, who noted the importance and relevance of the Prize and the key role of Elbasy in Kazakhstan's achievements in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation of WMD.