IAEA Approves Construction of Nuclear Research Reactor in Azerbaijan

Monday, Dec 08, 2008

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the United Nations has approved project of construction of the first nuclear research reactor in Azerbaijan, Adil Garibov, director of Radiation Problems Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, told Trend News.

“The Institute will carry out feasibility study of the project for three years and will it introduce to IAEA,” Garibov said.

It wad decided in IAEA meeting held in Vienna in 2007 to design project of construction of nuclear research reactor in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani government welcomed the construction of the first nuclear reactor. A nuclear reactor with a capacity of 30MWt is expected to be constructed in Azerbaijan. Construction of such reactor with a capacity of 30MWt costs $36mln.

Radiation Problems Institute has worked out a set of proposal for the government on the construction of nuclear power station in Azerbaijan. The Institute says it is necessary to create alternative energy sources in Azerbaijan.

Garibov said the project has not been introduced to Azerbaijan yet. The capacity and cost of the project will be available after the feasibility study of the project is carried out.

Chief of the Green’s Party of Azerbaijan Mais Gulaliyev said to Trend News that construction of a nuclear reactor in the country will cause ecological imbalance. The medicine has proved that radioactivity leads to cancer, blood cancer, palsy, cerebral palsy, cardiac insufficiency and other serious diseases.

Azerbaijan’s ecologists say if reactions causing radioactivity are carried out in the nuclear reactor, it will certainly harm people’s health.