Project Sapphire

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Secret removal of highly-enriched uranium from Kazakhstan

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In the novel, a cache of weapons-grade uranium plays a central role. Katerina, the agent in Almaty, describes it as a leftover from a clandestine program years back to spirit the uranium out of Kazakhstan following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The program's name: Project Sapphire.

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Here is a detailed article by John Tirpak on the real Project Sapphire:

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http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB491/docs/15%20-%20Air%20Force%20Journal%20account.pdf

 

David Hoffman of The Washington Post wrote an extensive article on Project Sapphire in 2009:

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/20/AR2009092002881.html

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Inside the 17-Year Mission to Secure a Legacy of Soviet Nuclear Testing

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A cache of weapons-grade uranium left over from Kazakhstan's Soviet era poses an imminent threat in Performance Anomalies, and Cono risks his life to eliminate it. The Belfer Center at Harvard has published a comprehensive report on the real-life story of Kazakhstan's nuclear weapons legacy and its peaceful resolution (so far). Great reading, and proof that reality can supersede fiction. By Eben Harrell and David E. Hoffman:

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https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/files/publication/Plutonium%20Mountain-Web.pdf

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