Kazakhstan’s scary uranium ambitions

analysis

By SRI ⋅ April 10, 2008 ⋅

The Central Asian country intends to become the global leader in uranium production. Its proximity to hotspots like Pakistan and Afghanistan worries some.

A few months ago a train headed from Kyrgyzstan to Iran was turned back at the Uzbek border after it was found to be carrying highly radioactive material. It had already traveled through southern Kazakhstan without the substance being detected at border checkpoints.

Kyrgyz authorities have said little about the incident, but it raises the specter of nuclear smuggling in the region just as Kazakhstan has embarked on an ambitious plan to become the world’s leading supplier of uranium.

Such unaccounted-for radioactive material, especially highly enriched uranium, is floating around Central Asia, possibly crossing borders freely.

In a January interview with the Arabic daily al Hayat, Mohammed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, named Kazakhstan among the four states where most nuclear trafficking incidents occurred, noting that such material could be used for making a “dirty bomb.”

As nuclear power elbows its way back into the world’s energy picture, the uranium deposits of Kazakhstan could become what the oil fields of Saudi Arabia were 70 years ago, powering an entire new generation of reactors. But some say those reserves—and the country’s plans to kick-start its nuclear energy program—could also make the world much less safe.

By Abdujalil Abdurasulov (Transitions Online/Business Week)