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EurAsEC uranium tailings storage facility remediation programme approved

The interstate programme of remedying soil under uranium tailings storage facilities in the member states of the EurAsEC has been approved

MOSCOW, April 7 (Itar-Tass) —— The interstate programme of remedying soil under uranium tailings storage facilities in the member states of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) has been approved.

The target programme approved on April 6 by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Kazakh Prime Mionister Karim Masimov, Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov, and Tajik Prime Minister Akil Akilov was drafted for five years.

“It will be carried out from 2013 to 2018. A total of 1,156 million Russian roubles will be allocated for its implementation, 75 percent of which will come from the budget of the Russian Federation. The draft programme was prepared by the state corporation Rosatom,” EurasEC Secretary-General Tair Mansurov said on Saturday, April 7.

The main purpose of the programme is to “implement a pilot soil remediation project in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in order to reduce risks of emergency with radiation and environmental consequences, develop and try out soil remediation methods and technologies that can create conditions for safe life and social rehabilitation of the population in these regions”.

The programme envisages soil remediation at two facilities in Kyrgyzstan (Kadzhi –Sai and Min-Kush) and one in Tajikistan(Taboshar).

“These facilities are not only hazardous for people’s health but they are also sources of a potential cross-border environmental threat for Central Asia. The implementation of the programme will help solve serious socio-economic and environmental tasks in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,” Mansurov said.

The Eurasian Economic Community is an international organisation that ensures multilateral economic cooperation among its member states.

The EurAsEC was founded according to the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community, signed by the presidents of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan in Astana on October 10, 2000.

In January 2006 the Republic of Uzbekistan joined the Community, but suspended its participation in the work of the EurAsEC's governing bodies since 2008.

In May 2002, Moldova and Ukraine were granted observer status at the EurAsEC, and in April 2003 the same status was granted to the Republic of Armenia.

Incorporated as an international legal body, in 2003 EurAsEC was granted observer status in the United Nations General Assembly. During its 62nd session in December 2007 the UN GA adopted the resolution “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC)”.

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