Rosatom has accopmlished the project for remediation of Taboshar industrial site near the city of Istiklol, the Sughd region, the Republic of Tajikistan.
The scope of works completed included the remediation of the dump of the low-grade uranium ore factory as well as of four tailings dumps. The work at the sites was done ahead of schedule.
Sherali Kabir, Minister of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Tajikistan, Nikolay Spassky, Deputy Director General – Director for International Affairs of Rosatom, and Rajabboy Akhmadzoda,the head of Sughd region of Tajikistan, took part in the solemn ceremony following the completion of the work.
The Central Design and Technological Institute is the contractor that carried out the work. The enterprise is part of TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom, which is also a center of expertise for the decommissioning of nuclear and radiation hazardous facilities and radioactive waste management.
The chosen engineering solutions enabled to reduce the height of the uranium sand dump from 65 meters to 35 meters and to cover it with a one and a half meter layer of clean soil. The radiation background within the remediation perimeter dropped to the natural background level, which is confirmed by the data of the monitoring done by the Agency for Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear Safety of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan.
In order to perform the works, the necessary infrastructure had been brought in. In particular, 3 km of road were asphalted, power lines were renovated. Remnants of structures were dismantled, a protective layer of soil was created, and a drainage system was organized at the sites to be reclaimed. A total of 39 units of special equipment were involved in the works. More than 1.2 million cubic meters of soil were moved. A total of 88 people worked in two shifts, including highly qualified local specialists from Tajikistan, such as dosimetrists, surveyors, geodesists.
“All rehabilitation works were fully completed almost five months ahead of schedule. Our team has developed innovative methods to bring uranium legacy sites to a safe condition. Also we and our partners have accumulated extremely useful experience in accomplishing such projects. As the result, it has contributed to a positive impact in improving the living conditions of people in vast territories, as well as the growth of the region’s welfare and economy. I would also underline that our cooperation prospects with Tajikistan is not limited to remediation of uranium legacy sites. Rosatom has expertise in nuclear medicine, geological exploration and mining of uranium, rare and rare-earth metals, scientific research and educational programmes. We are now discussing with our Tajik partners prominent joint projects in these areas”, commented Nikolay Spassky, Deputy Director General – Director for International Affairs of Rosatom.
Reference
The Taboshar deposit in the area of the city of Istiklol is one of the largest deposits in the USSR, where mining of uranium was actively carried out in 1945 – 1965. The operations were closed down in the 70s of the last century.
In 2022, the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Tajikistan, Rosatom and the Central Design and Technological Institute signed a three-party contract for the development of engineering documentation and for remediation of the uranium dumps and tailing dumps at “Taboshar” industrial site.
A branch of CPTI JSC was opened in the Republic of Tajikistan to ensure efficient project management. Specialists developed engineering documentation, created the infrastructure necessary for the remediation activities (engineering and technical support site, decontamination point for special equipment, etc.), and organized the work of the radiation safety service.
In total, about 88 workers were involved and 40 units of special equipment including 20 dump trucks with a lifting capacity of 40 tons were used in the work. More than 1.2 million cubic meters of soil were removed in the course of the remediation.
Russian specialists jointly with the local contractor carried out the large-scale work to demolish old reinforced concrete structures and equipment of the low-grade ore factory, to isolate large-sized scrap in reinforced concrete bowls of the workshop. The low-grade ore factory dump and four tailings dumps were covered with a protective shield made of natural materials.
During the remediation, the local school was closed for redecoration and schoolchildren went to another school at a safe distance from the work site.
As the result of the performed reclamation of the Taboshar industrial site, the territory adjacent to the nearby settlement has been brought to an environmentally safe state, the unique experience has been accumulated, special methods of environmental control and socio-hygienic monitoring have been developed and applied.
