IAEA specialists in Samarkand to discuss minimal civilian use of high-enriched uranium
TASHKENT. June 4 (Interfax) - Specialists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have met in the Uzbek city of Samarkand to exchange experience in removing nuclear fuel of research reactors, a spokesperson for the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences told Interfax on Thursday.
"Over three days the forum attendees will be discussing the agency's initiative to minimize the use of highly-enriched uranium in the civilian sphere, one of the priorities being efforts to return such spent nuclear fuel to the country of origin," the spokesperson said.
During implementation of the relevant program in 2006 and 2012, all spent and unsuitable fuel from the Institute of Nuclear Physics, which had been held there since 1991, was removed from Uzbekistan, the spokesperson said. According to experts, this made it possible to significantly improve radiation levels at the site of the research reactor.
Among the objectives of the IAEA conference is to discuss the world's first removal of highly-enriched liquid uranium fuel and plans to decommission the Foton radiotechnical complex based in Uzbekistan. Preparations for the removal began in 2012. The project implementation will also be a contribution to the non-proliferation of such material and will have a good effect on the environment.
"The forum attendees will analyze the experience of previous removals and how to improve this work, the design and use of relevant equipment, legal aspects, and nuclear, radiation and environmental safety," the spokesperson said.
The conference on the lessons from the program for removal of spent nuclear fuel, organized under auspices of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, is attended by more than a hundred specialists from the IAEA countries.
Uzbekistan is a party to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.