Russia’s ODTs UGR (Opitno-Demonstratsionnii Tsentr vivoda iz ekspluatatsii Uran-Grafitovikh Reaktorov – pilot demonstration centre for decommissioning uranium-graphite reactors), part of Rosatom’s Environmental Solutions Division, has signed a state contract for the development of design estimates for the rehabilitation of facilities in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Central Asia was an important source of uranium in the former Soviet Union. A large amount of radioactively contaminated material was placed in mining waste dumps and tailing sites and now poses a threat to the environment and the health of the population. The Environmental Remediation Account for Central Asia (ERA), managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), is also involved in remediation work in Kyrgyzstan.
The ODTs UGR contract provides for a set of works to create systems for providing engineering and technical services, which will allow rehabilitation to begin next year several sites. These include the industrial complex in the village of Kadzhi-Sai in the Issyk-Kul region, the Too-Moyun mountain dump in the Nookat district of the Osh region and the mountain dump in the village of Kyzyl-Zhar Jalal-Abad region. The work is planned to be completed entirely at the expense of the Russian Federation.
“Solving the problems of nuclear legacy is one of the priority areas of Rosatom’s policy in the field of ensuring environmental safety,” said Vasily Tinin, Rosatom’s Director for State Policy in the Field of Radioactive Waste, Used Nuclear Fuel & Decommissioning of Nuclear and Radiation Hazardous Facilities. “The state corporation is carrying out systematic work to eliminate the dangerous legacy both in Russia and in the territories of friendly states. After the collapse of the USSR in the Kyrgyz Republic, most of the storage facilities fell into disrepair and posed a danger to the environment.”
He added: “To date, over seven years of operation, Rosatom has already rehabilitated several tailings dumps, and serious emergencies have been prevented. By the end of this year we plan to complete the most technically complex project – at the Tuyuk-Suu tailings dump in the village of Min-Kush. There, due to the threat of a landslide, there was a high risk of radioactive substances entering the environment. Now there is no longer any such danger.”
Rosatom is engaged in land rehabilitation in neighbouring countries (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) within the framework of the Interstate Target Programme (ITP) Reclamation of territories of states affected by uranium mining production signed in 2012. The programme ends in 2024. Thereafter, in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan, work to bring facilities into a nuclear and radiation safe state will continue within the framework of new intergovernmental agreements.
Since 2017, Rosatom has been implementing projects to bring uranium tailings ponds in Kyrgyzstan to a radiation-safe state under a CIS programme within the framework of an agreement with the Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergency Situations. Thus, in 2019, work on the conservation of the tailings dump in the area of the village of Kadzhi-Sai was completed, and the facility was brought into compliance with radiation safety requirements. In 2023, work was completed on the rehabilitation of the Kak tailings dump and the liquidation of the Taldy-Bulak tailings dump adjacent to the village of Min-Kush.
Work continues on the conservation of the Dalneye tailings dump and the liquidation of the Tuyuk-Suu tailings dump (near the village of Min-Kush), which should be completed this year. All facilities will be brought into compliance with the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Kyrgyz Republic radiation safety standards.
In 2023, the reclamation of the territory of the Taboshar industrial site in Tajikistan, a dump of a low-grade uranium ore factory and four tailings dumps, was completed almost five months ahead of schedule. The site is one of the largest deposits in the USSR, where active uranium mining was carried out in 1945-1965. The project made it possible to improve the living conditions of people across vast territories and create the preconditions for the growth of well-being and the economy of the region. In Tajikistan, work will continue at two tailings dumps in the Sughd region.
In general, the implementation of projects within the framework of the Interstate Target Programme makes it possible to solve not only complex environmental, but also socio-economic problems in the region. From 2018 to 2023, annual social and health monitoring of the population living in close proximity to the territories of reclaimed objects was carried out in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
ODTs UGR specialises in ensuring the safety of closed nuclear facilities; the development and practical implementation of cost-effective technologies for decommissioning them; the practical implementation of decommissioning of industrial uranium-graphite reactors and other nuclear and radiation hazardous facilities; and improving the environmental situation in territories where they are located.
Researched and written by Judith Perera
