PHOTO: Kazakhstan gets a vehicle for transportation of radioactive materials

U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kenneth J. Fairfax has transferred a special vehicle for transportation of radioactive materials equipped with anti-theft alarm system to the Nuclear Energy Institute of Kazakhstan National Nuclear Center, Tengrinews.kz reports. “Such vehicles are very important because there are currently many areas that use radioactive materials. Radioactive materials are useful in the everyday life, but they are hazardous at the same time. A truck (carrying radioactive materials) can meet with an accident or get seized by those who can misuse such materials. Having such vehicles is very important for the residents of your country, as it will ensure their security,” Fairfax told the journalists. At the ceremony of the transferring of the new KamAZ truck Fairfax also noted that it was a gift from the United States and the Netherlands. The truck costs 115 thousand Euro. It will be used for transportation of radioactive materials only. In future the truck will be equipped by additional state-of-the-art equipment, anti-theft devices in particular. “We are the participants on the international base. There are cases when vehicles carrying radioactive materials are stolen by thieves who don’t even know what’s in them. The truck has special anti-theft equipment. I cannot tell you how it works. In general, it is protected in two ways: from radiation and from theft,” chairman of Kazakhstan Nuclear Energy Agency Timur Zhantikin said. According to Zhantikin, radioactive substances will be accumulated not only in the eastern part of the country, but also in its center. The hazardous cargoes will be transported to Baikal storage that has enough space. “It is understandable that its capacity is not unlimited,” he said and added that the plan was to consider construction of a recycling plant for radioactive wastes. The U.S. and the Netherlands will transfer another similar truck to Kazakhstan’s Mangistau oblast.