H. Res. 905
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
July 18, 2006.
Whereas on August 29, 1991, the Government of Kazakhstan 
shut down the world’s second largest nuclear test site in 
the Semipalatinsk region of the Republic of Kazakhstan; 
Whereas between 1945 and 1991, more than 450 nuclear 
tests were conducted at this site, exposing more than 1.5 
million innocent people to radiation and causing damage 
to the environment; 
Whereas the damage to the environment and to the health of 
the people of Kazakhstan from this terrible legacy of 
hundreds of detonations of Soviet nuclear explosive de-
vices could be felt for decades to come; 
Whereas upon gaining independence, Kazakhstan inherited 
from the former Soviet Union more than 1,000 nuclear 
warheads, as well as a squadron of 40 TU–95 heavy 
bombers armed with 370 nuclear warheads, comprising 
the world’s fourth largest nuclear arsenal; 
Whereas Kazakhstan renounced this massive nuclear arsenal, 
unilaterally disarmed, and joined the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nu-
clear weapon state, the first time a state that had pos-
sessed such a massive nuclear arsenal had done so;
•HRES 905 EH 
Whereas Kazakhstan’s leadership and cooperation with the 
United States on nonproliferation matters is a model for 
other countries to follow; 
Whereas Kazakhstan also inherited from the former Soviet 
Union the world’s largest anthrax production and 
weaponization facility, which had a capacity to produce 
more than 300 metric tons of anthrax per year; 
Whereas Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the United States 
Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, disman-
tled the military-related buildings and equipment associ-
ated with the anthrax production and weaponization facil-
ity; 
Whereas the Government of Kazakhstan, in cooperation with 
the United States, participated in a very successful secret 
operation code-named ‘‘Project Sapphire,’’ in which 581 
kilograms (1,278 pounds) of weapons-grade highly en-
riched uranium, enough to produce 20 to 25 nuclear war-
heads, were removed overnight from Kazakhstan; 
Whereas in December 2004 and May 2006, Kazakhstan and 
the United States concluded amendments to a bilateral 
agreement on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass 
destruction, which have moved the two countries toward 
a new level of cooperation in preventing the threat of bio-
terrorism; and 
Whereas in February 2006, Kazakhstan and the Nuclear 
Threat Initiative of Washington, D.C., with the support 
of the United States Department of Energy, blended 
down 2,900 kilograms (6,600 pounds) of weapons-usable 
highly enriched uranium, enough to produce up to 25 nu-
clear warheads, converting the material for peaceful use 
and preventing it from falling into the hands of terrorist
•HRES 905 EH 
organizations and being used in weapons production: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) congratulates the people and Government of the 
Republic of Kazakhstan on the 15th anniversary of the 
closure of the world’s second largest nuclear test site in 
the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan; 
(2) commends Kazakhstan for greatly advancing 
the cause of the nonproliferation of weapons of mass de-
struction as a result of its dismantlement of its nuclear 
and biological weapons and facilities; and 
(3) calls upon the Administration to establish a 
joint working group with the Government of Kazakhstan 
to assist in assessing the environmental damage and 
health effects caused by nuclear testing in the 
Semipalatinsk region by the former Soviet Union. 
Attest:
Clerk.