Assessment of the radiation exposure in the uranium mining and milling area of Mailuu Suu, Kyrgyzstan

The area of the town of Mailuu Suu, Kyrgyzstan, is polluted by radionuclides and heavy metals in tailing dumps and heaps resulting from the historic exploitation of uranium mines in the Mailuu Suu area in Kyrgyzstan. Radioactive substances are stored in 23 tailings and 13 mining debris heaps, some situated along the Mailuu Suu River. The objective of the EC-TACIS funded project was to evaluate measures to be taken by the authorities to reduce the radiological exposure of the population and to prevent environmental pollution by radionuclides and heavy metals in case of loss of tightness of dams and damage to dumps and heaps from mining and milling by land and mudslides and to propose sustainable remedial options. In the frame of this project, a radiological monitoring programme was set up and a radiological assessment was performed for critical group members living in the city of Mailuu Suu, located downstream the tailings, or in the village of Kara Agach, partially located on a uranium mine-waste dump. This aspect of the project will be highlighted at the conference.