Nuclear security training center opens in Almaty

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ALMATY. KAZINFORM Starting next month Kazakh scientists will be able to undergo nuclear security training at the new nuclear security training center in Almaty, Kazinform correspondent reports.

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The decision to establish the first nuclear security training center in Kazakhstan and Central Asia was made in 2009. And its conceptual project was introduced in 2011. The construction began in December 2015 and was completed in February 2017. The center is located on an area of 0.7 hectares, directly adjacent to the institute.

"As far as specialists are concerned, throughout all these years we worked together with our US colleagues. It was important to understand Kazakhstan's regulatory framework and the country's needs, as well as to determine the priority directions in the development of the training center. The US Department of Energy shared its experience in creating similar centers, their structure, and equipment. Everything here was created with the American project team support," said Yergazy Kenzhin, General Director of RSE "The Institute of Nuclear Physics".
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"Kazakhstan has voluntarily renounced its nuclear potential. However, the country is still one of the largest uranium producers (about 40 percent of world production). The country has research nuclear reactors, and its domestic industry uses about 1,000 different radioactive power sources. All this wealth carries the risks of sabotage and information leakage, which can occur even without breaking into the building. Therefore, to implement security measures we need specialists and training systems," said Petr Chakrov, the first deputy director of RSE "The Institute of Nuclear Physics".

It is worth noting that after the launch of nuclear fuel bank at Ulba Metallurgical Plant, and the specialists trained in the Almaty center will be sent to protect the new facility.
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"The Institute for Prevention of Illegal Nuclear Trafficking and Smuggling has been a partner of INP for 25 years and Kazakhstan and the United States fruitfully cooperated on issues of nuclear security. And I am very glad that our countries are partners. Within the framework of the project, we helped in financing physical security training center specialists' trips to the US National Laboratory, as well as in the purchase of portal monitors for the Almaty institute. We are considering a project of creating a nuclear forensics library in Kazakhstan. This will require additional equipment and special training. And we intend to continue our cooperation," said David Cleave, Executive Director of International Science and Technology Center.
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The opening ceremony was attended by the US Ambassador to Kazakhstan George A. Krol, US Consul General in Almaty Mark Moody, representatives of the National Nuclear Security Administration of the US Department of Energy, US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and the Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Nuclear and Energy Supervision and Monitoring of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Gumar Sergazin.
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