Former Soviet Nuclear Test Site in Semipalatinsk to House Kazakhstan’s Nuclear Waste

Kazakhstan plans to establish disposal sites for radioactive waste from its nuclear power plants at the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in the eastern part of the country, Deputy Chairman of the Atomic Energy Agency Gumar Sergazin announced during a briefing in Astana. Sergazin stated that the operation of two 1,200 MW reactors, similar to those under construction at the country’s first nuclear power plant in the Almaty region, will produce approximately 50 cubic meters of radioactive waste annually. Burial in the Semipalatinsk Zone A new bill on radioactive waste management, presented to parliament this week, outlines plans to develop burial sites within the Semipalatinsk nuclear safety zone. “This is already a contaminated area: the total area of the site is 18,000 square kilometers, of which about 8,300 are zones of elevated radiation,” Sergazin said. The National Nuclear Center is scheduled to begin site preparation in 2026. The depth of burial will depend on groundwater levels, with international norms typically placing high-level waste at depths of up to 400 meters. “Sanitary requirements will determine technical standards, including the type of cement and sealing techniques to prevent radiation leakage. Liquid radioactive waste will not be buried,” he clarified. Sergazin emphasized that the Semipalatinsk site will serve as a centralized repository for waste from all future nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan. He also noted that radioactive waste is already present in the country, even in the absence of operational nuclear power stations. Scale and Sources of Radioactive Waste Kazakhstan has accumulated approximately 293 million cubic meters of radioactive waste to date, of which 290 million cubic meters are low-level waste, Sergazin said. “The majority, about 237 million cubic meters, is located at the Semipalatinsk test site,” he noted. The remaining waste, consisting of medium and high-level material, originates from industrial and scientific operations. Key contributors include the National Nuclear Center, the Institute of Nuclear Physics, the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in East Kazakhstan region, and facilities in Western Kazakhstan such as Koshkar-Ata and the Chemical and Hydrometallurgical Plant. The agency estimates that safe disposal of liquid radioactive waste alone will require around $40 million. Funding and International Participation Given the scale and cost of the project, Kazakhstan intends to secure international grant funding. Sergazin confirmed that negotiations have begun with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. A draft agreement and roadmap have already been prepared as part of the Central Asia Environmental Safety Program. “Participating countries are expected to provide grant-based funding. Adoption of the new legislation will establish the legal foundation necessary to attract external resources, avoiding the need for increased domestic budget spending,” he said. Previously, The Times of Central Asia reported that Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant is slated for construction by the Russian state corporation Rosatom by 2035, while the second and third plants are expected to be built with the involvement of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).