IAEA and Central Asian Countries Extend Cooperation on Safe Management of Former Uranium Mining Sites

The IAEA has published a new strategic master plan to continue its cooperation with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and international organizations on the remediation of uranium legacy sites until 2030. 

These uranium legacy sites are former uranium mining, milling and processing facilities from the mid-1940s to the 1990s that were abandoned without plans for safe closure and decommissioning. The IAEA Coordination Group for Uranium Legacy Sites (CGULS) supports countries to safely manage these sites and the residues of radioactive and toxic contaminants to protect people and the environment.

“The new plan, an extension of our collaboration since 2017, focuses on enhancing the regulatory, technical, financial and human resources for the long term management of the remediated sites, according to IAEA safety standards,” said Hildegarde Vandenhove, Director of the IAEA Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety.

The new plan can be found here. 

The plan was presented in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in October 2025, and will guide the future activities of the IAEA, international organizations and collaborating countries, focusing on monitoring, maintenance, record keeping and continuous stakeholder engagement towards the safe and beneficial use of the remediated land. 

Under the original plan adopted in 2017, seven uranium legacy sites in Central Asia were designated as high priority for remediation, owing to the risk they posed to nearby communities and the environment. Since then, four out of the seven high priority sites have been remediated — two in Kyrgyzstan and two in Uzbekistan — allowing local communities to use the land safely  .

Work continues at a fifth site in Kyrgyzstan, one of the largest and most complex, with remediation expected to continue until 2032. In Tajikistan, one site has been partially remediated and another remains to initiate remediation.

As well as ensuring the high priority sites are managed and reused safely, the new plan encompasses lower priority sites for remediation – sites that present lower risks in terms of environmental, social and economic considerations, and were not remediated under the previous plan.  

“I am firmly convinced that the work of the IAEA Coordination Group for Uranium Legacy Sites stands as a vivid example of how the collective efforts of the international community, united by a shared goal -— the protection of people and the environment — can yield tangible and lasting results,” said Sardorbek Yakubekov, Deputy Chairman of the Industrial, Radiation and Nuclear Safety Committee of Uzbekistan, who opened the signing event. 

Since 2012, CGULS has supported Central Asian countries with practical guidance on remediation strategies, expert missions to guide progress in remediation efforts, and assisted in capacity building and developing legal and regulatory frameworks for remediating legacy sites.

CGULS comprises the IAEA, the European Commission, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and other international organizations and IAEA Member States. Learn more here.