OVERVIEW OF OPS AT TUWAITHA NUCLEAR

File: cia_65803_65802_01.txt
Page: 01
Total Pages: 1
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.
                  
CIA 847386 
 
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. 
 
TEXT: 1. 
                                                              
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, 
THE 30 JULY 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      WAS USED AS PART OF THE 
URANIUM ENRICHMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND 
INVOLVED TREATMENT OF URANIUM. 
 
10. BUILDING B6 WAS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE BERM, NEAR THE 
RIVER.                        MAGNETIC COILS FOR THE 
ELECTROMAGNETIC SEPERATORS WERE FABRICATED AT THIS LOCATION. 

ACQ: 1991). 
 
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