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Kazakhstan's Semipalatinsk: From Nuclear Testing Site to Test Ban Treaty Support

IN THIS ISSUE: Semipalatinsk and the CTBT, IAEA safety proposals weakened, Tehran says no to nuclear swap, NRC expanding team to check for quake damage, Iran sues Russia over defense systems, India could have anti-missile shield by 2014.

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Published on August 30, 2011

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In This Issue
Semipalatinsk: From Nuclear Testing Site to Test Ban Treaty Support
Carnegie Commentary
IAEA Atomic Power Plants Safety Proposals Weakened
Reuters
Tehran Says No to Nuclear Swap
Babylon and Beyond
U.S. Nuclear Panel Expanding Team to Check for Virginia Quake Damage
New York Times
Iran Sues Russia Over Defense Systems
UPI
New Delhi Could Have Anti-Missile Shield by 2014
Business Standard

Semipalatinsk: From Nuclear Testing Site to Test Ban Treaty Support

Togzhan Kassenova | Carnegie Commentary

Semipalatinsk

August 29 is a red letter day for nuclear testing. On that day in 1949, the Soviet military began forty years of nuclear tests—456 in all—at Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in the steppes of Kazakhstan. On August 29, 1991, following protests by thousands of Soviet citizens united by the Nevada-Semipalatinsk Movement, Kazakhstan shut down the site.

To encourage the banning of nuclear tests worldwide and in acknowledgement of Kazakhstan's actions the United Nations General Assembly designated August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests, in 2009.

On the twentieth anniversary of the closure of Semipalatinsk, it is important to recognize the role of the former weapons testing facility in strengthening the verification regime of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Kazakhstan was critical to the Soviet weapons program. It supplied material for nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines; it hosted strategic nuclear weapons; and it suffered bio-weapons tests on Vozrozhdeniye Island in the Aral Sea. Testing was the most critical element of the nuclear activities the Soviet military carried out in Kazakhstan. More than half of the Soviet Union's 715 tests were carried out at Semipalatinsk. Full Article   



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France To Seek Extension Of Global Nuclear Plants Stress Tests (WSJ)
IAEA Atomic Power Plants Safety Proposals Weakened
Fredrik Dahl | Reuters
Countries with atomic power plants would be encouraged to host international safety review missions, under a draft U.N. action plan that may disappoint those who had hoped for strong measures to prevent a repeat of Japan's nuclear crisis.     Full Article

Tehran Says No to Nuclear Swap
Ramin Mostaghim | Babylon and Beyond/LA Times
Iran says it's no longer interested in talking with the West about swapping nuclear fuel rather than making its own. Iran says it wants to make fuel to supply a reactor for medical purposes.     Full Article

 
 
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U.S. Nuclear Operators Survey Damage, Boost Output After Irene (Bloomberg News)
U.S. Nuclear Panel Expanding Team to Check for Virginia Quake Damage
Matthew L. Wald | New York Times
The earthquake last Tuesday in Virginia may have produced stronger shaking at the North Anna nuclear plant than the reactors were designed to withstand.     Full Article

Iran Sues Russia Over Defense Systems
UPI
Iran sued Russia in the International Court of Justice over its refusal to supply S-300 missile systems, an Iranian diplomat said. The two countries signed a contract in 2007 requiring Russia to provide Iran with at least five S-300 systems.     Full Article

New Delhi Could Have Anti-missile Shield by 2014
Ajai Shukla | Business Standard
In an exclusive interview, the Defence R&D Organisation's chief missile scientist has announced that, within three years, India will have a fully deployed missile-defence shield to safeguard a city like New Delhi from missile-borne nuclear attack.     Full Article

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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