On November 8, London hosted an international conference on the rehabilitation of uranium tailings in Central Asia. At the conference, it was announced that the European Union (EU) will grant an additional € 10 million to eliminate radioactive waste in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

This is reported by the EU representative in Kyrgyzstan. According to him, this amount will complement the earlier allocated € 16 million by the EU for this purpose.

“The EU plays a leading role in the implementation of the program for the rehabilitation of uranium facilities in Central Asia. For more than 10 years, preliminary studies have been conducted in these three countries, namely, the preparation of technical-economical grounding and an assessment of the impact of intending work on the environment. The EU has directed € 14 million for these studies. All these researches were conducted jointly with the governments of the countries of the region, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP),” the report reads.

As noted, the next phase of the program is the direct rehabilitation of uranium facilities supported by the governments of three countries (Kyrgyz, Tajik and Uzbek republics) and requires immediate start of work. According to some experts, the region has more than 1 billion tons of toxic uranium production wastes that engender a threat to the population and the environment.

It should be noted that the conference was held in London by the initiative of the Kyrgyz Government on the margins of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The bank manages a fund that accumulates capitals raised by the international community for the rehabilitation of uranium facilities in the region.