Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Experts from TVEL JSC, an integrator of the Russian nuclear industry for the decommissioning of nuclear and radioactive waste and the management of associated radioactive waste, visited the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (INF AS RU) in Tashkent as part of cooperation in the field of decommissioning of nuclear facilities and waste management.

The cooperation agreement between TVEL JSC, appointed as the Base Organization of the CIS countries for the management of spent nuclear fuel, radioactive waste and decommissioning nuclear and radioactive waste, and the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan was signed on the sidelines of the International Forum "ATOMEXPO-2022" in Sochi.

As part of the technical visit, the decommissioning specialists of the Integrator Rosatom got acquainted with the current state of nuclear legacy facilities - a storage facility for high-level radioactive waste and a near-surface storage facility for low-level radioactive waste located on the territory of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The parties discussed technological solutions and agreed on the development of a roadmap for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

“Constructive consultations were held with colleagues from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Republic of Uzbekistan on possible joint projects - the decommissioning of a storage facility for high-level radioactive waste and a storage facility for low-level radioactive waste with preliminary organization of the extraction of radioactive waste from objects. I would also like to emphasize the high level of competence of INP in conducting complex engineering and radiation surveys, analysis, assessment and justification of safety during decommissioning and radioactive waste management. It is advisable to involve these competencies in the framework of the implementation of joint international projects in the CIS countries,” said Eduard Nikitin, director of renewable energy programs at TVEL JSC.

“The decommissioning of the facilities of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, in particular the storage facilities for low-level and high-level radioactive waste and their disposal in the RWDF, is one of the priority tasks. We came to an understanding with our Russian colleagues that it is necessary to conduct a detailed analysis and form a roadmap for progress in this area,” said Ilham Sadikov, director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

When decommissioning the nuclear legacy facilities of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Rosatom Integrator plans to use advanced industry solutions in the field of decommissioning.