The main radioactive waste storage facility in Azerbaijan is the Izotop Industrial Complex, located 30km from Baku.  Izotop was constructed in the 1950s and holds 510 tanks of radioactive waste in 10 storage tanks designed to hold only low-level radioactive waste.  However, as of March 2000, nine of the 10 tanks were full and, in many cases, the level of radiation is above 1,000 roentgens.[1,2]

Data collected before 1988 suggest that approximately 350 organizations have a total of 950 radiation sources in their possession.  These organizations include military facilities, research institutes, production plants and health services-related enterprises. [3]  Spent radioactive sources from these organizations never reached the Izotop storage facility.  Instead they are spread throughout the Baku region.  Out of 157 radioactive contamination sites discovered in 1988 as a result of a special inspection in the Baku region, only 31 had been cleaned as of early 1996.  Many of these radioactive sources were left behind by the chemical weapons divisions stationed in Baku, Lenkoran, Gyandzha and Nakhichevan during the Soviet period.[3] 
Sources:
[1] N. Majidova, "There's No Room Left...," Zerkalo, 25 March 2000; in "Azeri Lack of Nuclear Safety Criticized," FBIS Document CEP20000327000145.
[2] CNS Discussions with a Ukrainian official.
[3] "Azerbaijan: Nuclear Waste Control, Handling Criticized," Zerkalo, 17 February 1996, p. 13; in FBIS-TEN-96-003, 17 February 1996.

Radioactive Waste Developments

1/30/2001: AZERBAIJAN ALLEGES ARMENIA DUMPING WASTE IN KARABAKH
On 30 January 2001 Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov alleged that Armenia is burying nuclear waste on territory it has annexed from Azerbaijan.[1]  A 1997 report in Avrasiya reported that 86kg of radioactive waste from Metsamor were buried in three districts of the occupied territories in 1996, and that Azerbaijani prisoners of war were used to dig concrete silos for the waste.[2]
Sources:
[1] Bilik Dunyasi, 30 January 2001; in "Azeri deputy premier: Armenia burying nuclear waste in Karabakh," FBIS Document CEP2001013000096.
[2] Avrasiya, 9 September 1997, p. 3; in "Armenian Nuclear Waste Reportedly Buried in 'Occupied' Land," FBIS Document TEN-97-253.

6/17/2000:  AZERBAIJANI ENVOY TO SAUDI ARABIA DENIES REPORT ON SMUGGLING NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Dr. Aylman Arasli, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Saudi Arabia, denied rumors that Azerbaijan is involved in the smuggling of nuclear weapons and warheads to Islamic countries in the Middle East.  For more information, see the NIS Nuclear Trafficking Database.
[Umar al-Zubaydi, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, 17 June 2000; in "Azerbaijani Envoy to Saudi Denies Reports on Smuggling Nuclear Weapons," FBIS Document GMP20000617000008.]

1/30/2001: AZERBAIJAN ALLEGES ARMENIA DUMPING WASTE IN KARABAKH
On 30 January 2001 Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov alleged that Armenia is burying nuclear waste on territory it has annexed from Azerbaijan.[1]  A 1997 report in Avrasiya reported that 86kg of radioactive waste from Metsamor were buried in three districts of the occupied territories in 1996, and that Azerbaijani prisoners of war were used to dig concrete silos for the waste.[2]
Sources:
[1] Bilik Dunyasi, 30 January 2001; in "Azeri deputy premier: Armenia burying nuclear waste in Karabakh," FBIS Document CEP2001013000096.
[2] Avrasiya, 9 September 1997, p. 3; in "Armenian Nuclear Waste Reportedly Buried in 'Occupied' Land," FBIS Document TEN-97-253.{Entered 3/7/01 KB} 
 
3/25/2000: BAKU NEWSPAPER EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER RADWASTE HANDLING
Although Azerbaijan does not have any nuclear reactors, research facilities, or uranium mines, the Baku newspaper Zerkalo reports that the level of radiation emissions in the country is much higher than normal. The article attributes this contamination to "orphaned" radioactive sources that were left behind by the Soviet military. These include "sources from gamma ray detectors, radioactive devices, radiopharmaceutical preparations and applications, and gamma and neutron sources used in geological research." According to the article, testing has discovered 157 contaminated areas in Baku, of which only 31 have been cleaned up. The remaining contaminated areas still have radiation levels of 120-3000 microroentgens per hour, compared with the normal background level, which should not exceed 50 microroentgens per hour. Over 200 ministries, enterprises, and other institutions in Azerbaijan use radiation sources in their work, and Zerkalo argues that these sources are not adequately monitored, nor are necessary safety precautions being taken.  The paper charges that problems are especially severe in the oil industry in Azerbaijan, saying that radiation levels of 8000-1200 microroentgens per hour have been measured at the Surakhanyneft oil and gas extraction enterprise. Furthermore, the Azeri Medical University conducted tests on oil workers and discovered that the level of radioactive isotopes in their tooth enamel was equivalent to that of residents of the Chornobyl area in Ukraine. Currently all radioactive waste in Azerbaijan, including "orphaned" sources, should be disposed of at the Izotop industrial complex, located 30km from Baku. The facility is almost filled to capacity, however; nine of the existing ten waste storage tanks are full, while the tenth tank is half full. The article cites the director of the facility, Baba Huseynov, as saying that "every compartment has a strictly limited capacity- 200 Curie. Today we cannot bury the ownerless sources of radiation we have found because we will thus fill up the last tank. What should we do if we suddenly find a 200-Curie source? It is impossible to keep such a powerful source temporarily in laboratories where less powerful [orphaned] sources are [currently] being kept." After appealing to several donors to help build a new waste repository, the Izotop complex finally received a EUR1.4 million grant from the European Union's TACIS program in 1999. However, the EU requires its own experts to oversee the construction of the new facility. Zerkalo added that these experts have not yet arrived so the facility still remains incomplete. Further aggravating the situation, Izotop has lost a great majority of its nuclear experts, many of whom have left their low paying jobs for better prospects abroad. The remaining workers continue to be poorly paid and work under dangerous conditions.
[N. Majidova, "There's No Room Left...," Zerkalo, 25 March 2000; in "Azeri Lack of Nuclear Safety Criticized," FBIS Document CEP20000327000145.]
 
6/19/99: IRAN REACTS TO REPORTS OF NUCLEAR WASTE DUMPING IN CASPIAN BY AZERBAIJAN
Iranian media denounced Azerbaijan after reports appeared in two Baku daily newspapers, Ekspress and Yene Musavat, alleging that Azerbaijani officials were to receive $260,000 from a foreign entity for each container of foreign nuclear waste dumped into the Caspian Sea.  The Ekspress article allegedly reported that the Justice Department of Azerbaijan was launching an investigation into the matter.[1,2]  The Azerbaijani state committee responsible for the protection of the environment issued a statement denying the reports.[2]
Sources:
[1] "Baku's shameful agreement with foreign firms to dump nuclear waste in Caspian Sea," Keyhan, 8 June 1999; in "Iran Probes Caspian Nuclear Waste Dump by Azerbaijan," FBIS Document FTS19990608001347.
[2] "Gentlemen!  Do not let the Caspian Sea Die.  Burial of Nuclear Waste is a Serious Matter," Entekhab, 19 June 1999, p. 12; in "Azerbaijan Suspected of Nuclear Pollution in Caspian Sea," FBIS Document FTS19990707001532.
 
2/16/98:  SWEDISH EXPERTS TO HELP AZERBAIJAN ON NUCLEAR SAFETY LAWS
Swedish experts have agreed to help Azerbaijan draft legislation governing nuclear and radiation safety.  Only one piece of related legislation, On the radiation safety of the population, is in force in Azerbaijan.  The Azerbaijani State Committee for the Environment is working with international experts to draw up additional regulations and standards on the transit of radioactive materials and burial of toxic wastes.  The US Departments of Defense and Energy have also expressed their willingness to help set up border checkpoints in Azerbaijan to control the export and import of radioactive materials.
[D. Karakmazli, Sharg, 17 February 1998; in "Swedish experts to help Azerbaijan on nuclear safety laws," FBIS Document FBIS-SOV-98-049.]
 
2/17/96: RADIOACTIVE WASTE FOUND IN FOREST
173 containers with radioactive sources, including cesium-137, were discovered in the forest near Baku. The material is believed to have come from a "mobile chemical repair shop." Military units of the Ministry of Defense are currently guarding the radioactive heap.
["Azerbaijan: Nuclear Waste Control, Nadling Criticized," Zerkalo, 17 February 1996, p. 13; in FBIS-TEN-96-003.] 
 
2/17/96: CONCERN OVER RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Planned expansion of oil extraction and refining is likely to cause an influx of radioactive waste. Radium, thorium and radioactive potash, contained in oil and stratal water, accumulate in pipes and various sections of purification and refining equipment. Azerbaijani experts have expressed concern that a lack of centralized material control and accounting, coupled with weak border control, may lead to illegal import of radioactive waste from abroad, specifically from the recently restarted Metsamor nuclear power plant in Armenia.
["Azerbaijan: Nuclear Waste Control, Handling Criticized," Zerkalo, 17 February 1996, p. 13; in FBIS-TEN-96-003.]

	Updated August 2005