Projects
- Monitoring river quality in the Southern Caucasus - a joint NATO-OSCE Science for Peace project
- Safe management of radioactive sites in Turkmenistan
- Evaluating radiation levels at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
- Obsolete pesticides in Moldova - NATO’s role in removing this serious threat
- Uranium extraction and environmental security in the central Asian republics
- Mélange: helping Azerbaijan deal with this serious environmental threat
- Helping preserve the Gulf of Aqaba in the face of global climate change
- Sahara Trade Winds to Hydrogen : Applied Research for Sustainable Energy Systems
- Harmonization of Seismic Hazard Maps for the Western Balkan countries
Safe management of radioactive
Chapters :
Background
Turkmenistan is one of the world’s largest producers of iodine after Chile, Japan and the United States. Iodine salts are extracted from deep underground water through a chemical process which involves adsorption on charcoal. The extracted water contains radioactive nuclides due to the natural radioactivity of the local geology. These nuclides, retained as adsorbed on the charcoal, are responsible for the waste radioactivity. In the production process, the waste is “simply” disposed of on the facility site, either in wood containers or as sand heaps.
More...The main objectives of this project
- Monitor the radioactive waste at the Khazar plant to evaluate the radiation level.
- Implement basic radioprotection techniques (equipment installation and associated operating procedures) to ensure safety of personnel and environment.
- Train Turkmen scientists and technicians in radioprotection and radiochemistry. This will enable them to obtain scientific knowledge for waste and site characterization and to take part in the conception of future safe waste storage facilities.
- Setup a modern radiochemistry laboratory to train and attract students and researchers into the field of nuclear safety and waste management.
Studies along these lines have been carried on through three sub-projects: implementation of standard radioprotection practices on the sites; training of Turkmen personnel (technicians, engineers and scientists); installation of the radiochemistry laboratory in Ashgabat.
End results
As a result of this NATO project, the following has been achieved:
- Basic radioprotection equipment has been procured to the site of Khazar. It consists of individual dosimeters; site dosimeters for permanent as well as for point measurements and laboratory equipment to carry out the first readings and interpretations of measurements.
- Training of Turkmen personnel able to run radioprotection campaigns with suitable procedures for long term monitoring has been carried out. Analysis requires a close collaboration with the ALGADE Company located in France, since for some of the measurements the required instrumentation is only available in their laboratory.
- Procurement of a modern gamma spectrometer to start a radiochemistry laboratory in Ashgabad and training of operators have been achieved.
Radioprotection equipment supported by NATO at the Khazar site
To date, the studies carried out have highlighted two main factors.
The radioactivity doses to which personnel are subjected come from radon emitted by heavy nuclides initially contained in the water. For people working on the site or for the public outside the facility, the doses have remained under the internationally-recommended norms (maximum of 20 millisieverts in a period of five years for workers and of one millisievert per year for the public), ensuring that no damage to the health is to be expected as a result of the plant operations. However, the past measurements have only taken air inhalation or external exposures into account, but not dust inhalation; which needs to be completed.
Part of the radioactivity on the site stems from places which should be kept safe from radioactive material (such as coffee rooms), calling for a much stronger control of the work place.
Further work is needed to make the Turkmen teams able to fully master the monitoring of radioactive doses connected with their activities. This implies developing the radiochemistry laboratory, which apart from bringing a general competence would make it possible to master the conception of future waste handling facilities with respect to international nuclear safety practices. To achieve this, a joint effort between the industry responsible for the waste handling and the scientific institutions in the country would have to be activated in Turkmenistan.
