Semipalatinsk test site problem to be solved by 2023
ASTANA. KAZINFORM Speaking at the 18th Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA) Ministerial Level Meeting, director general of the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Batyrbekov revealed when the problem of the Semipalatinsk test site will be solved, Kazinform correspondent reports.
"The National Nuclear Center has extensive experience in the elimination of the consequences of radiation accidents, as well as in the remediation of soils contaminated with radiation. This is our experience with the Semipalatinsk test site. To date, we have studied about 50% of all lands and created a program for their remediation. And we plan to completely solve the problem of the Semipalatinsk test site by 2023, that is, we will return more than 85% of all the lands of the Semipalatinsk test site to agricultural production, and 10-15% of the lands will be kept as a land reserve," said Mr. Batyrbekov.
According to him, Kazakhstan knows how to use even these type of land with profit.
"In particular, we created an industrial waste landfill for Kazzinc at the Balapan site that was used for underground nuclear testing - the lands that were not supposed to be used at all. And today they bring real benefits to the state since we transported arsenic-containing waste from Ust-Kamenogorsk to Balapan at the Semipalatinsk test site," he added.