KAZAKHSTANI RAILWAY OFFICIALS COMMIT TO BN-350 DRY-RUN

UNCLAS ASTANA 002070 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN NSC FOR JOYCE CONNERY ENERGY FOR NNSA/GTRI TAGS: PGOV PREL KNNP MNUC RS KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTANI RAILWAY OFFICIALS COMMIT TO BN-350 DRY-RUN DATE ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On November 19, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) representative met with officials from Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZh) -- the national railway company and primary rail authority -- to discuss the BN-350 spent-fuel transport. KTZh agreed to allow a dry run beginning on December 1. U.S. and Kazakhstani representatives discussed who will participate in the dry run, and approved a list including DOE National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) staff, along with Kazakhstani Ministry of Interior Special Troops and representatives from Kazakhstan's Atomic Energy Commission and National Nuclear Center. KTZh also agreed to allow actual BN-350 spent-fuel shipments immediately after the Commonwealth of Independent States' International Railcar Commission certifies the specialized railcars in January 2010. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) On November 19, Kazakhstani experts from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, its subsidiary organizations, and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZh) agreed to allow a dry run from Aktau to the Baikal-1 storage facility at the Semipalatinsk Test Site using U.S.-provided railcars. Kanat Almagambetov, Acting Director for Operations of KTZh reiterated his agency's unwillingness to allow any spent-fuel transport until completion of the formal railcar registration process. Almagambetov stated categorically that KTZh will not take responsibility for any possible incident related to the quality of the railcars, because they were not produced or certified in Kazakhstan, but manufactured at the Russian Federation's Tver railcar production facility. ¶4. (SBU) In order to satisfy concerns about potential liability in case of an accident, KTZh wants the Commonwealth of Independent States' International Railcar Commission to show its commitment to quality control through formal registration of the railcars in the CIS International Railcar Commission Register. (COMMENT: The register typically is used only for standard cars, such as passenger or restaurant cars, not specialized cars. END COMMENT.) ¶5. (SBU) During a dramatic speech, Almagambetov stood at the head of the table for emphasis and explained that KTZh has received phone calls from throughout the Kazakhstani government to complain about KTZh's foot dragging. He then committed to sign off personally on the dry-run contract and take responsibility for the inaugural round trip of the railcars. However, he asserted that KTZh would not accept liability for railcars with which it has no history or knowledge. According to Almagambetov, the CIS Commission must formalize the railcars' testing and certification process through the registration process. This, he explained, will give KTZh "someone else to point at" in case of an incident. (COMMENT: For decades, Russia has utilized dozens of this type of railcar for spent-fuel transport. END COMMENT.) ¶6. (SBU) The CIS Commission agreed to KTZh's November 12 request to register the specialized railcars and will formalize it during a committee vote on November 25. The last step of the formal process will occur on January 20, 2010 during the Commission's biannual board meeting to be held in Riga. After the Commission officially registers the railcars, KTZh will allow use of the railcars in Kazakhstan to transport BN-350spent fuel. SPRATLEN