cia_65802_65802_01.txt

---

Subject: OVERVIEW OF OPS AT TUWAITHA NUCLEAR    
Not Finally Evaluated Intelligence    
TO FACILITATE ELECTRONIC ACCESS, THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN    
REFORMATTED TO ELIMINATE INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT PERTAIN    
TO GULF WAR ILLNESS ISSUES OR THAT IS CLASSIFIED. A COPY OF    
THIS REDACTED DOCUMENT, IN ORIGINAL FORMAT, IS AVAILABLE ON    
REQUEST.
DIST: AUGUST 1991 
COUNTRY: IRAQ 
SUBJ: 1. OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONS AT THE TUWAITHA NUCLEAR 
         CENTER FROM 1985-1987 
      2. EFFECTS OF ISRAELI BOMBING OF THE SITE AND 
         SUBSEQUENT WORK DONE ON THE NUCLEAR REACTOR 
DOI:  1985-              1991 
 
SUMMARY: OPERATIONS AT THE TUWAITHA NUCLEAR CENTER INCLUDED 
URANIUM ENRICHMENT AND URANIUM PROCESSING.  ENRICHMENT 
RESEARCH INCLUDED ELECTROMAGNETIC, CENTRIFUGE, AND LASER 
PROCESSES.  WORK INVOLVING GLASS PIPES AND ACETONE WAS ALSO 
CONDUCTED IN THE TUWAITHA BUILDINGS WHERE ENRICHMENT 
RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED. 
THE SMALLER       SUPPLIED REACTOR 
       WAS OPERATING UNTIL THE GULF WAR; THE OLD REACTOR HAD 
BEEN MODIFIED TO INCREASE ITS POWER TO 10 MEGAWATTS; AND ONE 
BUILDING WAS USED TO PRODUCE HEAVY WATER, ALSO BEFORE THE 
GULF WAR.
1991, IN 1985, EXPERIMENTS ON ENRICHMENT WERE CONDUCTED IN 
THE LABORATORY WORKSHOP BUILDING (LWB).  OPERATIONS IN THIS 
BUILDING FOCUSED ON THE ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM                               
WORK INCLUDED EXPERIMENTS WITH CENTRIFUGE, ELECTROMAGNETIC 
SEPERATOR, AND LASER SEPERATION EXPERIMENTS.  ALSO IN THIS 
BUILDING WAS A GROUP WORKING ON CHEMICAL PROCESSES USING 
ACETONE. 
2.                            THE "HOT LABORATORIES" WERE 
 
3.              A PROJECT, 
WAS INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF NUCLEAR FUEL. 
THE PIPES CONNECTED WITH VESSELS ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE 
BUILDING. 
THAT THERE WAS A "WET AREA" FOR PUMPS WHICH WAS 
CONTAMINATED WITH URANIUM, THAT THERE HAD ONCE BEEN A FIRE 
IN A SPRAY DRYER, AND THAT THE FURNACES WERE MADE OF 
INCONEL.  THIS BUILDING ALSO HAD SPECIAL PUMPS WITH 
CAREFULLY CONTROLLED SPEED.  HE RECALLED ONE OF ITS 
FUNCTIONS WAS TRAINING PEOPLE FOR THE AL-JAZIRA SITE; 
SOURCE ASSUMES THIS TRAINING WAS INVOLVED IN YELLOWCAKE 
PRODUCTION. 
AL JAZIRA HAD A SPRAY DRYER LIKE THE ONE AT TUWAITHA, WHICH 
WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR MILK.  ALL THE EQUIPMENT WAS 
MADE IN  
IN 1987 A SPECIAL SIX MONTH EXPERIMENT WAS PERFORMED AT THE 
30 JULY SITE.  MANY SECURITY PEOPLE WERE THERE AND ONLY 
SPECIALLY AUTHORIZED PEOPLE WERE ALLOWED IN THE BUILDINGS.)       
SINCE AT LEAST 1987, 
SITE WAS VIGOROUSLY "CLEANED" TO CONCEAL THE ACTIVITIES 
THERE BEFORE IAEA SAFEGUARDS INSPECTIONS.
6. THERE WERE HOT CELLS IN THE BUILDING ADJACENT TO THE 
REACTOR. 
7. HEAVY WATER WAS PRODUCED IN A FACILITY BUILT INSIDE A 
WAREHOUSE NOT FAR FROM THE   REACTORS, EITHER IN BUILDING 27 
ON    OR AN ADJACENT BUILDING. 
9. BUILDING B10                    USED AS PART OF THE 
URANIUM ENRICHMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND 
INVOLVED TREATMENT OF URANIUM. 
10. BUILDING B6 WAS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE BERG, NEAR THE 
RIVER.                           , MAGNETIC COILS FOR THE 
ELECTROMAGNETIC SEPERATORS WERE FABRICATED AT THIS LOCATION. 
ACQ:         1991). 
END OF MESSAGE                                                                           
1.5(c) 
65802:65802

First Page |Prev Page |Next Page |Src Image

---