UPGRADES TO THE ACCESS CONTROLS AT THE BN-350 REACTOR IN AKTAU, KAZAKSTAN

In December of 1993, the governments of the United States and Kazakstan entered into an agreement concerning the control, accounting and physical protection of nuclear material in order to promote the prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation. In September of 1995 it was jointly determined that the BN-350 reactor in Aktau, Kazakstan had nuclear materials which warranted enhanced physical protection. After on-site surveys and cooperative analyses, the access control in the lobby of the reactor building was identified as one of the areas for strengthening. The new access control upgrades at the BN-350 will also require the development of new operational procedures and training for the security guard force. To aid in the accomplishment of this task, security supervisory personnel have been invited to Argonne National Laboratory-West at Idaho Falls, Idaho for a workshop. The workshop will assist the Kazakstani security supervisors in the development of the operational procedures necessary for their security force to interact effectively with the new equipment.