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Science 11 February 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5711, p. 827
DOI: 10.1126/science.307.5711.827c
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ScienceScope

ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN--Plans are afoot to create what may be the world's first "nuclear technopark" at one of the enduring legacies of the Cold War. The government of Kazakhstan is reviewing an $80 million proposal to establish a technology incubator at the Semipalatinsk Test Site--a territory nearly as big as Israel--in northeastern Kazakhstan where the Soviet Union detonated its first atom and hydrogen bombs. Since the closure of the Central Asian facility in 1992, Kazakh authorities have been trying to secure risky materials such as plutonium-laced soil (Science, 23 May 2003, p. 1220).

Looking to convert a liability into a sustainable venture, the former test site's physicist-caretakers have drafted plans to build an electron accelerator, a gamma irradiator, and other facilities for producing everything from medical radioisotopes to semiconductors. If the government approves the plan and kicks in the start-up money, the technopark would then use tax exemptions and other incentives to entice commercial partners from Kazakhstan and abroad. A decision is due by the end of the month.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)