DUSHANBE, November 12, 2014, Asia-Plus – Representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Frederic Claude and Christine Ciukuresku have visited Tajikistan to get acquainted with indices of exploration works carried out for the radioactive raw materials facilities, according to the Main Geology Directorate press center.
On November 11, Frederic Claude and Christine Ciukuresku held talks with senior representatives of the Main Geology Directorate under the Government of Tajikistan to discuss implementation of the radioactive raw materials project.
“Tajikistan has only one radioactive raw materials project,” the Main Geology Directorate head Murod Khol told Asia-Plus in an interview. He refrained from giving further details.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister, Azim Iborhim, who had previously headed the Main Geology Directorate, noted that Tajikistan set up a specialized expedition in 2012 to explore the radioactive raw materials. According to him, many foreign countries have shown interest in Tajikistan’s radioactive raw materials.
Uranium was extracted in Tajikistan during the Soviet era, but this industry has now diminished. At its peak, the industry reportedly produced approximately 170 tons of waste rock annually. The State Enterprise Vostokredmet (Eastern Combine for Rare Metals) has estimated that Tajikistan still has some 55 tons of uranium reserves remaining. Vostokredmet was established in 1945 in Leninabad (now Khujand) for processing uranium ore from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. During the period of its operation, some 35,000 cubic meters of low-level radioactive waste was reportedly accumulated on its territory.
The second Environmental Performance Review (EPR) of Tajikistan, conducted by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), notes approximately 54.8 million tons of waste from past uranium mining operations are still located in unsecured sites in northern Tajikistan, a number of them close to Khujand, the country”s second-largest city. The largest single dump site, containing some 12 million tons of radioactive waste, is in the town of Taboshar, north of Khujand.
The waste is stored in 9 tailing dumps with a total area of 1.7 km2 and 21 dumps of unyielding ores with a total area of about 225,000 m2 in the mining and processing enterprises.
The Government of Tajikistan, in cooperation with UNDP, prepared a Review of Uranium Tailing Dumps in Tajikistan: Problems and Ways to Address Them, for the International Forum in Geneva (June 2009). The Review presents a description of the current situation in the area of Taboshar and Adrasman and proposes concrete projects for the rehabilitation of tailing dumps in this area.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is implementing and preparing 19 regional and national projects aimed at improved management of radioactive materials and radioactive waste in Tajikistan.
Regional projects are aimed at strengthening international cooperation and information exchange supporting the capacity-building of local experts. National projects are used to improve the knowledge base and monitoring, and propose plans/strategies for decreasing risks to human health and environment.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957. Though established independently of the United Nations through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute, the IAEA reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.
IAEA has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The IAEA has two “Regional Safeguards Offices” which are located in Toronto, Canada, and in Tokyo, Japan. The IAEA also has two liaison offices which are located in New York City, United States, and in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition, the IAEA has three laboratories located in Vienna and Seibersdorf, Austria, and in Monaco.
The IAEA serves as an intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology and nuclear power worldwide. The programs of the IAEA encourage the development of the peaceful applications of nuclear technology, provide international safeguards against misuse of nuclear technology and nuclear materials, and promote nuclear safety (including radiation protection) and nuclear security standards and their implementation.
Tajikistan joined the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2001.
