International Scientific Conference on the Test Site Survey Findings is being held in Kurchatov

Today scientists from Kurchatov set the goal to rehabilitate lands of the test site and introduce them into the economic turnover of the country.

60% or 10 000 sq. km. of the former Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site has already been surveyed. And the results of this tremendous long-term work indicate that only 2 thousand sq. km. of the test site territory should be permanently withdrawn from economic turnover. However, the rest of the territory can be used in agriculture or subsoil use. Today Kurchatov scientists set the task of rehabilitating test site lands and introducing them into the country's economic turnover.

This and many other things were discussed at the opening of the VIII International Conference “Semipalatinsk Test Site: Legacy and Prospects of Scientific-Technical Potential Development”.

According to Erlan Batyrbekov, Director-General of NNC, the conference brought together scientists and leading specialists in the field of nuclear energy and radiation safety from China, Japan, France, Germany, Russia, Belarus, Hungary and other countries of the world. They presented the results of their scientific research in radiation medicine and ecology, modern projects using nuclear facilities.

– The International Conference on the Study of Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site Territory has become a good tradition for the world scientific community. This year two important jubilees are associated with: 60th anniversary is celebrated by the members of the Institute of Atomic Energy involving to non-proliferation and nuclear safety, as well as experimental research on nuclear energy safety, structural materials of nuclear and fusion technology. Also, the Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology celebrates its 25th anniversary and has the task of observing the current radioecological situation at the former Semipalatinsk Test Site, noted Erlan Batyrbekov.

To their anniversary dates, the staff of research institutes achieved excellent results. Scientists of the Institute of Atomic Energy are taking the most active part in the decommissioning of the fast reactor BN-350, the construction of Kazakhstan’s Material Testing Reactor KTM and radioactive waste management.

According to Yuri Strilchuk, the Head of Educational-Information Center of the Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology, integrated radioecological studies have already been carried out for 10 000 sq. km of the Semipalatinsk Test Site territory. This represents about 60% of the total area of the test site. The completion of the studies is scheduled for 2021.

“According to our integrated studies, the ground areas available for various types of economic activity will be determined. It is already known that the area of the test sites that is about 2.000 sq. km will not be transferred for economic purposes. The reason is these are the places where nuclear weapons have been tested and where the radiation background is very high. There is also a need to address the behavior of the lands that have been exposed to nuclear fallout following a nuclear test. They contain high levels of radionuclides, but their content in the soil does not exceed the accepted norms in Kazakhstan. In general, most of the test site could be used for agriculture and mining” – Yuri Strilchuk shared with journalists the work results of the team of the Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology.

In parallel, a section on nuclear research facilities used for experiments in radiation safety, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy was worked.

Author: Yekaterina Gulyayeva,

Photo of author

“Rudnyi Altay” newspaper 12.09.2018