APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090015-0
Naval research and development are of minor consequence. They consist mainly of exploiting foreign technology to meet local needs. Such work is confined to the construction of frigate or smaller size vessels. The only indigenous research known to be underway on naval weapons is directed to the development of small caliber deck armament.
2. Biological and chemical warfare (C)
No research on offensive or defensive biological warfare is known to be carried on in Spain. The country depends on the neighboring NATO member nations to keep it informed on advancements in basic research and in the latest technological and scientific developments. There is only a limited capability for the development of chemical warfare defensive equipment, and there is no program for research in offensive material. Scientists are aware of the nerve agents tabun, sarin, and somac but have not conducted research on them.
3. Nuclear energy (C)
Spain has established a nuclear energy program devoted to research, the utilization of nuclear raw materials, and the applications of nuclear energy, particularly for power. The country has been dependent upon some foreign assistance but is increasing its capabilities for industrial participation in a growing nuclear power program. Although Spain has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has no plans to expend any effort on the development of a nuclear weapons program.
The nuclear energy program was begun in 1948, when a special commission was created to study the application of nuclear energy in Spain and to initiate training programs. This led to the establishment of a Nuclear Energy Board in 1951 to carry out actual development; JEN is under the Ministry of Industry. The functions of JEN include advising the government on nuclear matters, exploiting nuclear raw materials, training personnel, producing and distributing radioactive isotopes, and constructing and operating pilot plants and prototype facilities. One of the most important tasks assigned to JEN is to promote a nuclear energy. With the growth of nuclear power, in 1972 the Spanish Government promulgated a new nuclear code, giving the Ministry of Industry the central role in licensing and regulating nuclear power stations and related industrial, scientific, and professional activities.
Spain is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and EUROCHEMIC; the latter is a fuel reprocessing facility built and operated by the members of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Spain was a member of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), but was forced to suspend its membership for economic reasons. In 1972 Spain joined EURODIF, the French-led group which is studying the possibility of building a uranium isotope separation plant in Europe using the gaseous diffusion process. Spain is also a member of the Association for Centrifuge Enrichment (ACE), which was established in May 1973 to study the centrifuge process of enriching uranium.
JEN established a national nuclear center, Centro Nacional de Energia Nuclear Juan Vigon, near Madrid. The work of JEN is divided into 12 divisions devoted to all aspects of nuclear research. The divisions are grouped into five directorates: Geology and Mining, Reactor Physics, Isotope Chemistry, Pilot Plant and Industrial Applications, and Engineering and Health Physics. The principal research facilities of the Juan Vigon center are a US-supplied, 3-megawatt (MW) swimming pool-type reactor, JEN-1, which went into operation in 1958; CORAL-1, a zero power fast breeder critical experiment, and JEN-2, a 10-kilowatt (kW) pool type reactor. Both reactors went into operation in 1968. Two 10-kW argonaut-type research reactors were constructed at the center and installed at the Industrial Engineering Schools at Barcelona and Bilbao in 1961 and 1962, respectively. The center also has pilot plants for uranium ore processing; production of heavy water nuclear-pure graphite, and uranium metal, oxide and carbide; the fabrication of fuel elements; and the reprocessing of irradiated fuel. These facilities give Spain research and development experience in most phases of reactor construction and operation. There are extensive plans for nuclear power. Figure 4 gives locations and tabulated data.
While the first uranium deposits in Spain were discovered in 1939, a program for the exploitation of radioactive materials was not started until the late 1940s. An extensive prospecting program is being carried out by JEN, and promising uranium ore deposits have been located in a number areas. Spain is estimated to have reserves of about 8,500 short tons of recoverable uranium at less than US$10 per round.
A uranium ore concentration plant, Fabrica de Urania General Hernandez Vidal, went into operation in 1959 at Andujar, province of Jaen. Approximately half of the known Spanish uranium ore reserve is located in a cluster of deposits near Ciudad-Rodrigo. The government decided that the Ciudad-Rodrigo
10
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090015-0
