New Delhi
22 June 2007
Pakistan appears to be building a third plutonium production reactor
at Khushab nuclear site, according to the Washington-based Institute for Science and
International Security (ISIS).
The authors of the report, David Albright and Paul Brannan, base their findings on a
commercial satellite imagery taken on June 3.
The facilities at the Khushab nuclear site are not safeguarded by the IAEA (International
Atomic Energy Agency) and support Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.
Albright and Brannan say, "The expanded construction at Khushab, and apparent
resumption of activity at the Chashma plutonium separation plant, all occurring within the
last six years, imply that Pakistan's government has made a decision to increase
significantly its production of plutonium for nuclear weapons."
An ISIS report of January 18 this year has said that that Pakistan has resumed
construction of a plutonium separation facility at Chashma, a facility about 80 kilometres
west of Khushab. This reprocessing facility, which would be Pakistan's second and is
also unsafeguarded, is likely related to the construction of the two additional reactors at
Khushab because when the reactors come on line, Pakistan's demand for reprocessing
capacity would increase significantly.
The latest ISIS report suggests that the recent activity at Khushab and Chashma should
be viewed as a sign of an accelerated nuclear arms race.
The report says that the third reactor appears to be a replica of the second heavy water
reactor and is located a few hundred metres to the north, though construction is
progressing much more quickly than the second.
"A GeoEye image of the same area in Khushab taken in August of 2006 shows only a
faint dirt foundation and no structures [and] all of the third reactor construction visible in
the June 3, 2007 image has taken place in the last 10 months."
The similarities between the second and third reactor construction projects indicate that
the power of the third plutonium production reactor is likely to be similar to that of the
second reactor.
On July 24, 2006 rpt 2006, ISIS published imagery showing the construction of a second
heavy water reactor at Khushab. Pakistan began building it between 2000 and 2002. It is
still under construction in the June 3, 2007 rpt 2007 imagery.
The first Khushab nuclear reactor went critical in 1998.
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