Press Release: The Second Major Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Project between the USA and Kazakhstan has been launched

National Atomic Company 'Kazatomprom' has been informed by the US Department of Energy and National Nuclear Safety Administration of commencement of the second major U.S. non-proliferation project with Kazakhstan.

One hundred and fifty scientists, engineers and technicians at a former nuclear weapons plant in Kazakhstan will turn their talents to commercial production as a result of an agreement announced by Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham at a conference in Kansas on investment and trade opportunities in Kazakhstan. This new project, undertaken by the U.S., the Republic of Kazakhstan and private U.S. industry, is the second major nuclear nonproliferation effort between the two nations.

The OJSC ULBA Metallurgical Plant (UMP), NAC Kazatomprom's affiliated company, will expand and upgrade its capacity for production of copper beryllium (CuBe) master alloy. This material has commercial applications and is a component in a range of products including small appliances, computers, and telecommunications.

'The successful transition of ULBA from a nuclear weapons plant to a viable commercial entity is critical to U.S. national security,' said Secretary Abraham. 'Our new project represents a superior combination of private enterprise and trade investment with the nonproliferation objectives shared by both our nations. It is also our latest project in support of President Bush’s nonproliferation agenda that is reducing the threat from weapons of mass destruction.'

Brush Wellman Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio and RWE NUKEM, Inc. of Danbury, Conn. will partner with ULBA under the agreement. The Los Alamos National Laboratory will provide technical assistance and the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is providing expertise and funding. The ULBA project will convert the beryllium technology used to produce Soviet nuclear weapons to entirely commercial processes.

ULBA is expected to reap significant economic benefits from the project, estimated at over $10 million per year. At least 150 jobs at the plant will be sustained for the next 8-10 years. Brush Wellman Inc. and RWE NUKEM, Inc. will invest $4 million in the ULBA project. ULBA has committed over $4.5 million, and the NNSA will contribute at least $1.5 million. We would like to note that signing of this project does not mean establishment of a joint venture.

We would like to remind that in January 2002, Secretary of Energy Spenser Abraham announced the NNSA’s first project at ULBA, in which uranium-containing materials (scraps) will be processed into nuclear quality uranium and then made available as a power source to civilian power reactors throughout the world.