The process of rehabilitation of tailings begun at one of the former uranium facilities in Kyrgyzstan, the press service of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development reported.
The Mailuu-Suu uranium mine, one of the largest and most heavily contaminated uranium legacy sites in Central Asia, will be remediated with grant funding from the Central Asia Environmental Remediation Account (CRA) managed by the EBRD.
“The 23 million euro grant, the largest since the creation of the NER, will help stabilize and cover more than 2 million cubic meters of radioactive materials at tailings dumps located along the Mailuu-Suu River in Kyrgyzstan. About 350 thousand cubic meters of tailings need to be moved to a safe disposal site. This will prevent the spread of toxic materials through the river system to the Ferghana Valley, where more than 15 million people live,” the EBRD commented on the decision.
The grant agreement, allowing the start of remediation work, which will last seven years, was signed by the Minister of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan, Boobek Adzhikeev, and Balthazar Lindauer, Director of the EBRD's Nuclear Safety Department, in Bishkek.
“The thickness of the planned soil cover will be 2 meters, which will minimize infiltration into the body of the tailings and prevent access to them. This will help more than 100 thousand people living in the city of Mailuu-Suu and its environs in the south of the republic to avoid environmental problems associated with former uranium facilities. The project will also finance the rehabilitation of contaminated land and water resources in the area, which will contribute to sustainable development and improve the well-being of local communities,” the EBRD said.
Mailuu-Suu is the third site to be remediated in Kyrgyzstan following the successful completion of similar work at the former uranium mining sites in Shekaftar and Minkush in the spring of 2022. The project will serve as a model for similar initiatives in other countries of Central Asia, where the issue of uranium legacy sites still needs to be addressed.
Prior to its independence, Kyrgyzstan was one of the main suppliers of uranium raw materials for the needs of the USSR. After 1991, uranium mining in Kyrgyzstan was suspended and there are currently no active uranium mines.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
May 17, 2023