This is the first document in the history of the two countries to establish a legal framework for nuclear cooperation between them.The document was signed by Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachov on behalf of the Russian government and Farhod Rakhimov, President of the Tajikistan Academy of Sciences, on behalf of Tajikistan’s government.
Areas of prospective cooperation are extremely diverse and include design, construction, operation and decommissioning of research reactors, spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management, reclamation of uranium tailing dumps, and disposal of decommissioned uranium extraction and processing facilities. Cooperation between the countries will be also focused on radioisotope production, the use of nuclear technology in the industry, medicine and agriculture, and professional workforce training for the nuclear power industry.
Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation: “The civil nuclear cooperation agreement we have signed today opens up new opportunities for joint projects in this field. I should say that this agreement is first of all a solution to environmental problems.”
The nuclear power development has long been on the national agenda in Tajikistan. The country has been an IAEA member since 2000 and is an active participant in international meetings, forums and other events dedicated to peaceful uses of nuclear power. Last year, Tajikistan launched a program to restore the Argus-FTI nuclear research reactor in 2016–2020. The reactor was designed by Soviet scientists, but has never been put in operation after the Chernobyl disaster. According to Ivan Andrievsky, Chairman of the Board of 2K Engineering Company, the research reactor is the most likely site for joint nuclear projects between Russia and Tajikistan. “Tajikistan plans to revitalize the project and will need Rosatom’s competencies in this field,” he said.
Reclamation of Taboshar
One of the most important joint projects is reclamation of tailing dumps and dumping grounds of the beneficiation plant near the town of Taboshar. This project is part of an international program focusing on the rehabilitation of former uranium production sites. The program was developed to mitigate environmental impacts of uranium tailing dumps in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
Launched on 1 January 2013, the program is coordinated by Rosatom. The national project owner in Tajikistan is the Ministry of Industry and New Technology of the Republic of Tajikistan. Phase 1 of the project is carried out by the Federal Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (FCNRS), a subsidiary of Rosatom. In accordance with the program, FCNRS has conducted engineering and environmental surveys, updated the geological and hydrological parameters of the area, and performed land surveying on the Taboshar site. In November, FCNRS submitted design documents and cost estimates of the Taboshar site reclamation project to the government of the Republic of Tajikistan for examination.
Not long ago, Tajikistan’s ministers and Andrei Golinei, CEO of FCNRS, had a meeting on the Taboshar reclamation project. They discussed an approval procedure for the buffer zone borders and expert examination of the project documents submitted to the Committee for Architecture on 30 November.
Hochien Mirsoshokir, Deputy CEO for Science, Environment and New Technology of the state-owned company Tajredmet, is sure that the submission of project design documents to the Committee for Architecture is an important step that speaks for their soonest approval. “Official examination of the project design will be a starting point for the massive effort of bringing the Taboshar site back to radiation safety,” he said.
