DUSHANBE, October 9, 2009, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan is now concerned over rehabilitation and safety of tailing dumps rather than exploration and development of uranium deposits, President of the Academy of Sciences, academician Mamadsho Ilolov, remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on October 9.
According to him, there is a large number of tailing dumps in northern Tajikistan. In the Soviet era, the northern city of Chkalovsk had been one of centers of the uranium industry. Chkalovsk’s enterprises had been processing not only Tajik uranium ore. They had also processed uranium ore delivered from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
“Radioactive waste was stored in tailing dumps that do not meet appropriate safety rules and are situated in the immediate proximity to residential areas and rivers,” said the academician, “Therefore these tailing dumps pose threat to the environments.”
Moreover, resumption of the uranium industry requires huge funds, while Tajikistan now does not have such funds, Ilolov said.
He added that Tajikistan is in the twenty-fifth place in the world in the reserves of uranium ore.
We will recall that the head of the Main Geology Directorate (Tajik Geology) Azim Ibrohim told journalists on October 6 that a number of foreign companies have shown interest in participation in exploration and development of the uranium deposits in Tajikistan. According to him, among them are enterprises of the countries engaged in development and sale of these radioactive raw materials.
