THE IRRADIATED CANNING AND TRANSFER PROGRAMME AT BN-350 POWER REACTOR IN AKTAU, KAZAKHSTAN

the BN-350 canning and Transfer Project is a joint effort between kazakh Authorities and the USA. The objective is to package the irradiated fuel in dry canisters and to transfer these canisters to a secure location in view of permanent shut-down of the reactor. The USA are providing the financial and technical support to this project The IAEA effort is concentrated on the implementation of the international safeguards measures during all phases of the project with particular emphasis to those verification measure required before the fuel elements are welded into canisters. This paper describes the various aspects of the project and the co-ordinated effort in order to achieve the objectives established by each participant oragnization in this which is by far the largest canning operation under international safeguards. It poses challenges to all parties, because of the the magnitude of operations, of types materials, of particular measurement techniques and for the particular logistic arrangements to be made. In order to cope with the complexity of the projectm, periodical review meetings are held at various levels to monitor the progress, to resove technical issues and to optimize the use of resources.