Top Uranium Producer Is Shaking Up Nuclear Decision Making
- Kazakhstan is one of 17 countries excluded from IAEA board
- Central Asian nation is preparing to file a legal demand
Uranium concentrate at a processing facility near the East Mynkuduk uranium deposit in Kyzemshek, Kazakhstan.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Since the height of the Cold War, the rules governing the safety and security of the global nuclear industry have been decided behind closed doors by a 35-member board that excludes some of the major players in the business. The world’s biggest uranium producer is trying to shake up the status quo.
Kazakhstan, which produces about two-fifths of the world’s uranium, says it’s tired of being treated like a second-class citizen at the International Atomic Energy Agency and is preparing to file a legal demand to make it eligible for a seat on the board, according to a statement dated Aug. 18 circulated among diplomats.