The WNN reports that the government of Kazakhstan has approved a draft agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on establishing a low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel bank in Kazakhstan. Kazakh Minister of Energy Vladimir Shkolnik signed the agreement on 27 April, 2015, and the document was published on the government website for new legal acts yesterday. The agreement came into effect on the date of its signing.
Kazakhstan put itself forward to host an international LEU depositary on its territory under the auspices of the IAEA in 2010. According to international norms, such a fuel bank must be located in a country with no nuclear weapons and be fully open to IAEA inspectors. The fuel bank will be an LEU reserve for the production of fuel assemblies for nuclear power plants. Any state wishing to develop nuclear energy will be able to apply to Kazakhstan for the uranium fuel needed for their nuclear power plants.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said of the plan that they believe that the development of multilateral approaches to nuclear fuel, including the creation of guaranteed nuclear fuel reserves, will contribute to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
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