Saskatchewan-Kazakhstan Connection - NOT just tractors!

[Oscar]

Saskatchewan-Kazakhstan Connection - NOT just tractors!

WATCH: Silent Bombs

[ http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes ... 26312.html ]

For forty years from 1949 to 1989, the Soviet Union exploded 460 nuclear bombs in eastern Kazakhstan.

About 200,000 villagers living within 45 kilometres of the test site, known as the Polygon, were exposed to high levels of radiation.

Not only were they not protected but they were treated as human guinea pigs, instruments of study in the event that the Cold War turned into nuclear war.

But what is probably most devastating of all is what is happening today. Children who were never exposed to nuclear fallout are being born sick and they are getting sicker.

That is because the damage their parents and grandparents suffered as a result of the Soviet Union's nuclear test regime has not only been passed down but seems even to have intensified in the following generations.
Silent Bombs: All for the Motherland can be seen from Sunday, August 2, 2009 at the following times GMT: Sunday: 1400; Monday: 0600 and 1900; Tuesday: 0300.
. . . .

Silent bombs for the Motherland

By Gerald Sperling FOCUS: WITNESS
UPDATED ON: Sunday, 02, 2009 17:02 Mecca time, 14:02 GMT

I had lived in the former Soviet Union as a graduate student in the 1960s and had travelled extensively across Central Asia, but I had never been to Kazakhstan and knew very little about it.

This was before Borat so I did not even have a gross misrepresentation of the country to rely on.

After some hesitation, I tentatively asked the ambassador: "About what?"
He handed me a book called The Epicentre of Peace by Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan. I flipped through the pages, noting the horrific pictures of deformed children and mushroom clouds.
The ambassador told me that between 1949 and 1989, some 500 nuclear devices had been exploded in northeast Kazakhstan and that the population was still living with the consequences.

I knew that the Soviet space programme had been based in Kazakhstan, but I had no idea about the nuclear testing.

Nazarbayev's book described what had taken place in the country and as soon as I finished reading it I knew that I had to make a film about it.

The Polygon

The tests took place in a remote area to the west of the town of Semey (formerly called Semipalatinsk) which has come to be known as the Polygon.

When I first travelled there, I was struck by two things: just how much the countryside with its rolling hills and flatlands resembled southwest Saskatchewan and how little wildlife there was around.

Of course, I came to discover that the long term presence of radioactive materials had affected the area's wildlife, for while the contamination on the surface of the land has virtually disappeared, it remains just inches below.

During the time we spent in nearby villages, we met the locals and heard their stories of generations affected by cancer, anaemia, schizophrenia and dementia.

We were struck by the candour of these people, their courage, their fatalism and, strangely, their optimism.

During the five visits we made to the region over five years, we lived in the villages, often sleeping on the floors of cold houses with no running water, we learnt about the daily lives of the villagers and we became familiar with the rhythms of this remote and challenging society.

Our cameras captured the sights and sounds of the villages - the horse races, the dances, the feasts and celebrations. But we also met the doctors who are treating the victims and the scientists who are studying the effects of the massive radioactive contamination in the area.

We spoke with Dr. Saim Balmukhanov, one of the first of the Soviet era scientists to have investigated the health conditions of the villagers in 1957, and Dr. Boris Gusev, who as a young army doctor in the early 1960s had seen the effects on Soviet soldiers of exposure to radiation.

Denial

There were also those who denied that the tests that had taken place in the Polygon had anything to do with the conditions being encountered by the villagers.

A spokesman for the museum in Kurchatov, a town on the edge of the Polygon that had been built especially for the 30,000 people engaged in the Soviet nuclear programme there, boasted that he regularly swam in the Atomic Lake, the body of water created during the "first peaceful use of a nuclear device" - that is a huge underground explosion.

The radioactive materials have long since settled at the bottom of the lake, hundreds of metres below the surface, so the water itself is safe. But when we told him that the shores of the lake, as well as the land surrounding it, was still dangerously radioactive, his response was vague.

Then there was the Russian scientist at an institute in St. Petersburg who dismissed the claims of the Polygon villagers, telling us: "They would not complain about their ailments if they had roads and houses like you have in Canada."

Their story

When making the film, we chose to let the villagers tell their own story - the women who bore witness to the early deaths of six, seven or even eight of their children, the men who have seen their livelihoods raising and tending livestock destroyed by nuclear poisoning and the former soldiers whose lives have been shortened by their experiences in the Polygon.

Those who were alive when the tests were being conducted say they were told to hide their heads beneath blankets but many watched anyway.
In those early years, little was explained to the villagers about what was going on, largely because the Soviet authorities themselves did not fully understand the effects of the radiation.

As they came to learn more, however, they realised that by studying the effects on those exposed they could better understand the dangers of nuclear contamination. As one scientist told us, the villagers were not treated, they were studied.

During filming we observed doctors like Erbol Ibraimov, the director of an orphanage in Semey who patiently and lovingly cares for children with malformations such as hydrocephalus (large swollen heads), and interviewed Melgis Metov, the so-called "Atomic Soldier".

Metov was exposed to radiation in the 1980s and now fights tirelessly for recognition of the plight of all those Soviet soldiers who were exposed like "laboratory rabbits" to radiation as they served the "Motherland" during the worst days of the cold war.

Ten generations

The government of Kazakhstan banned nuclear weapons as one of its first acts after independence in 1991.

Small pensions are now provided to the victims, but the Russian government assumes no responsibility for the Kazakhstani victims. Because this happened in a backward part of Central Asia, because the superpowers had other fish to fry and because the international journalistic community has not focused on the issue, this has long been ignored.

But this film is not simply an account of something bad that happened in a neglected corner of the world.

Kazakhstan's experience reveals that the fallout from nuclear explosions can be suffered by ten generations or more and I hope that those who are blithe about nuclear proliferation will now understand just what it means to allow any nation to test and store nuclear weapons.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

. . . .

Kazakhs Hunt For "Radioactive Dollars"

[ http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory ... /story.htm ]

Story Date: 27/1/2006

ALMATY - Kazakhstan is on a nationwide hunt for dozens of "radioactive dollars" circulating in the country's financial system.

The Kazakh central bank said in a letter to financial institutions the radiation level of the US dollar notes was 100 times above normal. A Kazakh citizen brought them into the country in November, it said.

"(The dollars) pose a direct threat to people's health," said the letter, obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

Officials urged banks and exchange bureaux to redouble efforts to find the notes by checking the serial numbers.

It was not clear how the money, nearly $4,000 in 100-dollar and 50-dollar bills, got contaminated.

The Soviet Union used Kazakhstan, a vast Central Asian state, the for many decades as a testing ground for nuclear weapons after it detonated its first plutonium bomb in 1949.

. . . .

ASIA MISSION TO PROMOTE SASKATCHEWAN \"POWERHOUSE\"

News Release - October 17, 2005

[ http://www.central.gov.sk.ca/news?newsI ... 5b50e598cd ]

Promoting the province's key economic sectors is "job one" on Team Saskatchewan's latest trade and investment mission, now leaving for Hong Kong, China, Japan and Kazakhstan.

Premier Lorne Calvert is leading the Oct. 17th to 29th trade mission, which includes approximately 40 business, community and academic leaders as participants. Team Saskatchewan will hold over 60 meetings with Asian business and government leaders to promote new business relationships in potash, energy, agriculture and agricultural machinery, telecommunications, film production, forestry, tourism and research and development.

"Hong Kong, China and Japan are among the world's – and Saskatchewan's – biggest importers and sources of investment, and Kazakhstan is a vital and growing market for us," Calvert said. "We intend to build on already well-established economic relationships, to explore exciting new trade and investment opportunities, and to create broader awareness of Saskatchewan's strengths in resources, agri-business, research and innovation."

Calvert leaves Wednesday for eight days of meetings in Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo. Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline is already en route for 10 days of meetings in Beijing and Jinan (Shandong Province) in China and Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan.

Highlights of the mission include two keynote speeches by the premier on the "Saskatchewan Powerhouse" to the Canadian Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and Tokyo, Japan. The delegation will meet in Hong Kong with Hutchison Wampoa Ltd. (parent company of Husky Energy) and the Noble Group; in China with Sinochem (potash), China National Cereals, Oils and Food Stuffs Corporation (COFCO), the China National Petroleum Corporation, Chinese film producers, the National People's Congress, and various Ministries; and in Japan with Hitachi, Sapporo Breweries, Nippon Flour Mills, the Idemitsu, Overseas Uranium Resources Development (OURD), Japan-Canada Uranium Company Limited (JCU) and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) uranium companies and Japanese outbound tourism operators.

A number of new co-operation agreements will be signed on the mission, including agreements between the University of Regina and Jinan University, between the University of Saskatchewan and the Beijing Institute of Technology, and between the China National Petroleum Corporation and the Regina-based Petroleum Technology Research Centre.

The premier will speak at a Canadian Beef Export Federation event in Tokyo, aimed at key players in the Japanese beef industry. Cline will focus on agriculture and agricultural machinery in his meetings with business leaders and Kazakhstan's Ministers of Agriculture and Industry and Trade.

"This mission speaks to a key thrust of the recently released Saskatchewan Action Plan for the Economy, namely enhancing and promoting our competitive advantages," Cline said. "We are one of Canada's most successful exporting provinces, and we intend to promote our goods, services and expertise even more aggressively in the global marketplace, and especially in Asia."

"Asia experts tell us that Saskatchewan's economic assets are supremely well positioned to take advantage of these booming Asian economies," outgoing president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) John Treleaven said. "Our business community told us last week in roundtable discussions that this trip to these places at this time is essential for their business prospects."

Participants on the Team Saskatchewan Asia mission include Canada Livestock Services, CanMar Grain Products, Farm Pure Global Inc., Hypor, University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, City of Regina, Regina Regional Economic Development Authority, STEP, SaskFilm, Tourism Saskatchewan, Tourism Regina, Partners in Motion, Four Square Productions Limited, Prairie Malt, and Svalof Weibul. -30-

For More Information, Contact:

Bob Ellis Industry and Resources Regina Phone: (306) 787-1691

Related Links

Additional Information

/news-archive/2005/10/17-943-attachment.pdf

[ http://www.central.gov.sk.ca/news-archi ... chment.pdf ]

. . . .

(...just used tractors, eh? Ed.)

KAZAKHSTAN BUSINESS DELEGATION VISITS SASKATCHEWAN

[ http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=7cfd19 ... 122628fe71 ]

News Release - June 14, 2004

Saskatchewan is hosting 28 buyers from Kazakhstan who are here June 12th to 20th, 2004 to learn more about made-in-Saskatchewan agricultural equipment.

The visit is a continuation of Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership's (STEP's) efforts to bring together Kazakh buyers and Saskatchewan sellers. STEP led two missions to Kazakhstan earlier this year that resulted in over $15 million in new and used equipment sales.

Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline will host a breakfast for the delegation.

"Saskatchewan investment in research and development has launched new types of innovative farm equipment that is exported all over the world," Cline said. "This distinguished delegation is part of a long term partnership resulting in more made-in-Saskatchewan farm equipment hard at work in the fields of Kazakhstan."

The balance of their program will involve meeting with Saskatchewan exporters, a visit to the Western Canada Farm Progress Show, and visiting a range of manufacturing facilities, service centres and farming operations around Saskatchewan.

"We are pleased that Kazakh producers appreciate Western Canadian seeding technology and have been told by them that this equipment operates extremely well under Kazakh conditions and fits in well with their farming practices," STEP Director of International Development Tim Marshall said.

The Republic of Kazakhstan is situated halfway around the world from Saskatchewan and its agriculture is a mirror image of that found here. With similar rainfall and extreme seasons, the use of Saskatchewan's dry-land farming technology is desirable for Kazakhstan's extensive grain production industry. The agricultural equipment market is estimated to be worth $300 million dollars in Kazakhstan as farmers look to modernize their equipment and grain storage facilities.

Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership has been actively pursuing opportunities for Saskatchewan exporters in this region since 1996. Saskatchewan has had a presence in the region since 1989, when leaders from Saskatchewan and Kazakhstan signed a co-operation agreement that focused on the development of agriculture.

STEP is a non-profit, membership-driven, government/industry partnership, designed to promote the growth of Saskatchewan's export industry. STEP helps provincial businesses meet their international marketing objectives through specially tailored services and programs. STEP pursues growth in existing foreign markets and opens doors to new ones. Members include both businesses that are experienced and those that are new to international trade. -30-

For More Information, Contact:

Tim Marshall
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
Regina
Phone: (306) 787-2191
Cell: (306) 536-6469

. . . .

SASKATCHEWAN TECHNOLOGY SELLS IN KAZAKHSTAN

[ http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=c109f6 ... 5c5bc15116 ]

News Release - March 4, 2004

Agricultural implements and tractors from Saskatchewan are on their way to Kazakhstan. In the past six months new and used tractor and implement sales to producers in Kazakhstan were over $15 million (Canadian).

"This boost in implement sales has brought relief to an industry challenged with issues including drought, BSE and the prevailing U.S. dollar exchange rate," Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline said. "We understand that these initial orders could mean further sizeable contracts for Saskatchewan companies in the near future."

Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership (STEP) is leading an agricultural machinery mission to Kazakhstan from March 6th – 13th, 2004 with six Saskatchewan companies. In addition to agricultural machinery, there is significant potential for the hog, beef and dairy industries, as well as opportunities for Saskatchewan agricultural specialists and consultants. "As a follow-up to this initiative, a second mission is scheduled to take place in late May concentrating on the same sector," STEP Director of International Development Tim Marshall said.
Delegations from Kazakhstan are planning to visit Saskatchewan throughout the year and it is anticipated that 20 buyers will attend the Western Canadian Farm Progress Show in June.

The Republic of Kazakhstan is situated around the globe from Saskatchewan, yet its agriculture sector is a mirror image of that found here. The climate of Kazakhstan and Saskatchewan are similar with 250 – 400 millimeters of rainfall, 40 C summers and minus 40 C winters. The use of Saskatchewan dry-land farming technology is a must for Kazakhstan and its large extensive grain production industry.

STEP has been actively pursuing opportunities for Saskatchewan exporters in this region since 1996. Saskatchewan has had a presence in the region since 1989 when an agreement was signed between the province and Kazakhstan that focused on the development of agriculture.
STEP is a non-profit, membership driven, government/industry partnership, designed to promote the growth of Saskatchewan's export industry. STEP assists provincial businesses to realize global marketing opportunities through specially tailored services and programs. STEP pursues growth in existing foreign markets and opens doors to new ones. Members include both businesses that are experienced and those that are new to international trade. The team of professionals has the experience, knowledge and international contacts to help companies meet their international marketing objectives. -30-

For More Information, Contact:

Tim Marshall
Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership
Regina
Phone: (306)787-2191
Bob Ellis
Industry and Resources
Regina
Phone: (306)787-8277

= = = = =


Ottawa to ink nuclear export deal with Kazakhstan


[ http://www.edmontonjournal.com/technolo ... story.html ]

By Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News ServiceSeptember 24, 2009

Trade Minister Stockwell Day will sign a treaty with Kazakhstan today that will clear Canada to export nuclear technology to the ex-Soviet republic, part of a push by the government to drum up business for Canada's nuclear industry in Central Asia and India.

Day wrapped up a trip to Ukraine on Wednesday during which he launched free-trade talks with that country and promoted the Candu nuclear-reactor technology developed by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

"We have a very clear indication that they want to see Candus as part of their nuclear energy future," Day told Canwest News Service in an interview from Kyiv.

After signing the nuclear co-operation agreement in Kazakhstan, Day will travel to India to open a trade office in Ahmedabad, the biggest city in Gujarat state. Day said the government is also putting the finishing touches on a nuclear co-operation agreement with India and hopes to have a deal done in as little as a month.

"It's just a matter of getting the final i's dotted and t's crossed," he said.

In addition to opening doors for AECL, the trade mission could generate opportunities for Canadian uranium producers, such as Saskatchewan-based Cameco.

MORE:
[ http://www.edmontonjournal.com/technolo ... story.html ]

[Oscar]

SASKATCHEWAN CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN TRADE RELATIONS WITH KAZAKHSTAN

http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=f03e41 ... 9a701ca551

News Release - October 22, 2009

Saskatchewan will continue to actively pursue, create and strengthen its trade relationships and business opportunities with foreign markets through a trade mission to Kazakhstan. The province has an extensive business relationship with Kazakhstan with the scope of these relations expanding beyond economic co-operation. The mission will focus on various sectors and include participation from industry representatives from the mining, education, agriculture and agriculture equipment sectors.

The mission is being jointly undertaken by Enterprise Saskatchewan, the province's agency responsible for economic development and Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP). Along with industry representatives, Enterprise Saskatchewan Minister Ken Cheveldayoff will participate in the mission program which is scheduled to take place from October 23-30, in the cities of Almaty and Astana, Kazakhstan.

"This mission will present an opportunity to gain a stronger understanding of the development priorities for Kazakhstan while we showcase the achievements and capabilities of Saskatchewan industry," Cheveldayoff said. "The cross collaboration in the various sectors adds significant value to Saskatchewan's economy and we intend to build on this opportunity. Sustaining future co-operation and opportunities for growth is paramount in the mission program."

"STEP members recognize the opportunities in this region and they continue to have significant export and economic growth," STEP President and CEO Lionel LaBelle said. "2009 marks the 20th year of a Letter of Intent signed with the Province of Saskatchewan and the Republic of Kazakhstan, a former republic of the U.S.S.R. which aims to work together, on a best effort basis, to identity and investigate opportunities for future economic co-operation. This agreement continues to allow STEP members, companies and provincial organizations in the two jurisdictions to undertake co-operative initiatives resulting in mutually beneficial economic growth."

STEP is a non-profit, membership driven, government/industry partnership, designed to promote the growth of Saskatchewan's export industry. STEP helps provincial businesses to realize global marketing opportunities through specially tailored services and programs. STEP pursues growth in existing foreign markets and opens doors to new ones. Members include both businesses that are experienced and those that are new to international trade. The team of professionals has the experience, knowledge and international contacts to help companies meet their international marketing objectives.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Lionel LaBelle
Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership (STEP)
Regina
Phone: 306-227-8275
Email: llabelle@sasktrade.sk.ca

[Oscar]

Kazakhstan and Canada to invest $200 million into uranium conversion facility

[ http://en.tengrinews.kz/industry_infras ... ity-23980/ ]

Wednesday, 13.11.2013, 21:41

Kazakhstan and Canada jointly plan to invest $200 million into a uranium conversion facility, Tengrinews reports, citing Vladimir Shkolnik, KazAtomProm National Uranium Company Chairman of the Board.

“We are working to launch a facility capable of feeding 40 nuclear power plants. The plan is not only to meet the demand of the anticipated one or two nuclear power plants – should they be built in Kazakhstan – but to tap the global market of nuclear fuel. The investments stand at about $200 million, the joint venture is on parity basis”, Mr. Shkolnik said following ceremony to sign a nuclear co-operation agreement (NCA).

The document was signed by Kazakhstan’s Vice PM and Minister of Industry and New Technology Asset Issekeshev and Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird.

According to Mr. Shkolnik, the project is about uranium conversion. “This facility is another step to the full nuclear cycle in Kazakhstan”, he said, adding that the production capacities of the facility are planned at 6 000 tons of uranium a year.

Tim Gitzel, President and CEO of Cameco, said that “the two nations have been working in uranium production for years, and today’s agreement lays foundation for further bilateral cooperation to convert uranium”.

“Therefore the agreement is of paramount importance (…) We entered Kazakhstan’s market in 1993. There have been a variety of joint projects. We plan to invest more than has already been invested. This agreement enables Canada to transfer technology to Kazakhstan. The Canadian side possesses uranium purification and conversion technology. And we are interested in Kazakhstan’s investments”, Tim Gitzel said.

According to the press-release issued by the Ministry of Industry and New Technology, the agreement paves the way for launching a refining facility and facilitates further conversion of uranium to produce nuclear fuel at the Ulba metallurgical plant [engaged in production of hi-tech uranium, beryllium and tantalum products for the needs of the nuclear power industry].

KazAtomProm, including its stakes in other companies, produced a total of 11 900 tons in 2012 (over 20% of global production). In 2011 the Company produced 11 079 tons.