SPECIAL REPORT | ASIA’S URANIUM LEGACY “Giving TVEL the status of a CIS base organisation
will expand the existing potential of international cooperation, ensure consistency and comprehensiveness in the formation of approaches to unify the norms and rules for safe decommissioning of nuclear facilities and radioactive waste management,” said TVEL President Natalya Nikipelova in a statement. TVEL would provide a “single window” function for the competent authorities of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the event of urgent requests from them on the topic of eliminating the nuclear legacy. A revised version of the SMP was published in September
2021. It had been prepared by the CGULS Secretariat in cooperation with the EBRD, the EU, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, the Organisation for Security & Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and also Uzbekistan.
Progress made since the initial SMP It assessed progress since the initial SMP, noting that all preparatory work, including relevant studies and assessments had been completed within the first phase of the CIS programme by 2017 for a total cost of €3.2m. The second phase (2017-2023) focused on the physical remediation. The Kadji-Say site in Kyrgyzstan became the first ULS to be remediated within the CIS Programme. Remediation, which cost €1m, began in 2017 and was completed in 2019. In 2017 remediation also started at the Min-Kush tailings (total cost €23m). Funding (approximately €9.2m) had been approved to remediate Yellow Hill and tailings 1-4 at Istiklol in Tajikistan. As to the EU’S Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC), the revised SMP noted that a suite of environmental impact assessment and feasibility studies (EIA and FS) was completed, forming a portfolio of implementation-ready projects. ERA was “making steady progress” in accordance with the EBRD’s delivery model. Framework Agreements
(FA) had been signed with recipient organisations in Uzbekistan (2017), Kyrgyzstan (2018) and Tajikistan (2020). Project Management Units (PMUs) had been operational in Kyrgyzstan since 2019, in Uzbekistan since September 2021 and were in preparation in Tajikistan. EBRD funding was approved for remediation of Min-Kush
(€3m for all objects except tailings) and Shekaftar (€3m) in Kyrgyzstan. Remediation of the Mailuu-Suu site, estimated at €26m, depended on the availability of ERA funds. Decisions were expected on funding for remediation at Istiklol excluding Yellow Hill and tailings 1-4 (estimated cost €13m) and Degmay (estimated cost €28m) in Tajikistan, as well as for Charkesar (estimated cost €0.8m) and Yangiabad (estimated cost €7.2m) in Uzbekistan. However, the report noted a significant funding gap to remediate all priority sites included in the scope of EBRD’s ERA programme. Looking to the future, the revised SMP prioritised seven
sites in Kyrgyzstan (Mailuu-Suu, Min-Kush and Shekaftar), Tajikistan (Istiklol and Degmay) and Uzbekistan (Charkesar and Yangiabad). These were selected based on the risk and priority rankings attributed to each site in the IAEA Technical Baseline Document on Central Asia ULSs, as well as on risk evaluations and remediation options.
Kyrgyzstan The Shekaftar site, comprising three closed mines and eight mining waste disposal areas, contained about 700,000 cubic metres of waste rock and low-grade ores. Eroded waste disposal sites on the banks of the Sumsar river were releasing radioactive contaminants into the river. Works at Shekaftar, under an ERA project, included closure of six shafts by demolishing remaining above-ground structures and closing shaft openings with concrete. Material from waste rock dumps, including five dumps near schools and other buildings and one dump on the banks of the Sumsar river would be relocated to a more remote dump site and covered with a layer of soil. A new pipeline would provide Shekaftar village with a source of clean drinking water. The work was completed on schedule and below the projected
Above: Another legacy uranium site in Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet era. This one is in Kaji Say Photo credit: MehmetO/
Shutterstock.com
34 | November 2023 |
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