Division 3 Ensuring the long term storage of the 90 tonnes of LEU

The LEU will be located at a dedicated storage facility within the UMP territory, located in Oskemen, Kazakhstan. The IAEA LEU will be stored in 30B cylinders. The facility operator, on behalf of the IAEA, will be responsible for storing and protecting the LEU, in compliance with the IAEA safety standards and security guidance. This includes the purchase of the 30B cylinders, which will provide physically safe and secure storage of the LEU. Safety studies indicate that these containment vessels provide robust, safe storage for up to 50 years. In addition to providing safety, the thickness of the walls of the cylinders and the overall design of the cylinders contributes to physical protection from sabotage and theft.

A key activity in ensuring the long term storage of the LEU is the implementation of a cylinder management programme, including routine inspection and recertification of 30B cylinders in storage, for compliance with the ISO 7195 standard, as well as for assurance of readiness for transport to Member States. This requires procurement of services for re-certification of cylinders by authorised inspectors as well as services from UMP staff to support the performance of the testing.

In addition, during long-term storage of the IAEA LEU, the IAEA will undertake routine and ad-hoc monitoring activities, including receipt, review, and verification of annual reports from UMP. This will include annual meetings with UMP to review the safety and security activities related to the IAEA LEU Bank, as well as other types of missions to UMP to ensure that the relevant provisions of the IAEA safety standards and security guidance continue to be applied to the IAEA LEU Bank.

This item will cover a period of 5 years.