VZCZCXRO4086
OO RUEHIK
DE RUEHTA #2070 3241124
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201124Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6894
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 2177
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2248
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1547
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 1182
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1737
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 1592
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2596
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2894

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