KHUJAND, July 4, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- Specialists from the Moscow enterprise Izotop (Isotope), which will be engaged in removal of ionizing emission sources from the Sughd province, have visited the province, Humonjon Hakimov, director of the Sughd branch of the Nuclear and Radioactive Safety Agency within the Tajik Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.    

 According to him, the Izotop specialists visited the state-run enterprise Vostokredmet to get acquainted with its technological opportunities as appliances with ionizing emission sources that have remained in the province since the Soviet time will be temporarily stored at Vostokredmet before removal from the region. 

 “There are some 500 sources of ionizing emission, which are parts of various devices, in northern Tajikistan,” said Hakimov, “They will be removed from the province to the republican center for burial of radioactive waste in the Fayzobod district [some 55 kilometers east of Dushanbe].”

The project is implemented by Izotop under financial support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Hakimov said.  He added that specialists had estimated expenses for implementation of the project.  “They are currently preparing report for the IAEA, which will provide funds,” said he.  “The experts promised that the radioactive trash will be removed from the province before October this year.”