Newsroom
First international conference on radioactive waste in Tajikistan opens in Dushanbe
DUSHANBE 5 November 2004
DUSHANBE, 5 November 2004 - A pioneering international conference which started today in Dushanbe focuses on the monitoring of radioactive waste dumps in northern Tajikistan.
Organized by the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe and the Institute of Water Problems, Hydropower and Ecology of the Tajik Academy of Sciences, it is the first meeting of its kind to openly address the radioactive waste problem in the country's north and its consequences on the health for the local population.
The two-day conference, entitled "Monitoring of migration and accumulation of radionuclides in components of natural ecosystems", is aimed at raising the awareness of the authorities and the public and attracting donors to help with solutions.
Over 200 participants from countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as representatives of the UN, the EU, the U.S. and Iran are sharing information and experience on similar environmental crises. The conference will issue recommendations on further action which will be submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the OSCE Permanent Council.
"Radioactive waste in Northern Tajikistan is the biggest human-made disaster in Central Asia," said Saulius Smalys, Environmental Officer of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe.
"The role of this conference is to exchange information and present the full scale of the problem to the public and the international community to find joint solutions."
Information on radioactive waste sites in Tajikistan was kept secret in Soviet times and research, monitoring and mapping of dangerous sites started only recently. As a result, radioactive material has affected some 10 million people living in the basin of the Syr-Darya river, where the incidence of cancer has increased dramatically in comparison with the Tajik national average.
Radioactive waste has also been a cause of tension with neighbouring states, namely Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
"We are very grateful to the OSCE for organizing this conference and starting this process. We hope that this will lead to the reutilization of radioactive waste for peaceful means," said Ulmas Mirsaidov, President of the Tajik Academy of Sciences.
The conference is part of a broader effort by the OSCE to address environmental and security problems linked with radioactive dumps in Tajikistan. A similar project is underway in Sughd.
Organized by the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe and the Institute of Water Problems, Hydropower and Ecology of the Tajik Academy of Sciences, it is the first meeting of its kind to openly address the radioactive waste problem in the country's north and its consequences on the health for the local population.
The two-day conference, entitled "Monitoring of migration and accumulation of radionuclides in components of natural ecosystems", is aimed at raising the awareness of the authorities and the public and attracting donors to help with solutions.
Over 200 participants from countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as representatives of the UN, the EU, the U.S. and Iran are sharing information and experience on similar environmental crises. The conference will issue recommendations on further action which will be submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the OSCE Permanent Council.
"Radioactive waste in Northern Tajikistan is the biggest human-made disaster in Central Asia," said Saulius Smalys, Environmental Officer of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe.
"The role of this conference is to exchange information and present the full scale of the problem to the public and the international community to find joint solutions."
Information on radioactive waste sites in Tajikistan was kept secret in Soviet times and research, monitoring and mapping of dangerous sites started only recently. As a result, radioactive material has affected some 10 million people living in the basin of the Syr-Darya river, where the incidence of cancer has increased dramatically in comparison with the Tajik national average.
Radioactive waste has also been a cause of tension with neighbouring states, namely Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
"We are very grateful to the OSCE for organizing this conference and starting this process. We hope that this will lead to the reutilization of radioactive waste for peaceful means," said Ulmas Mirsaidov, President of the Tajik Academy of Sciences.
The conference is part of a broader effort by the OSCE to address environmental and security problems linked with radioactive dumps in Tajikistan. A similar project is underway in Sughd.