IAEA backs Kazakhstan's Plan to farm Nuclear Wasteland

    By Richard Orange
    The final report, submitted to the Kazakh government by the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) in the first week of January, has already been criticised by local scientists, who fear that radioactivity could enter the food chain.
    "I believe it will be a very great mistake to reopen the land for grazing," said Professor Leonid Rikhvanov, a professor at Russia's Tomsk University.
    "The health risks could include genetic mutations, blood diseases, and cancers of various internal organs."
    The Soviet Union detonated 456 bombs in Semipalatinsk between 1947 and 1989, putting an area the size of Wales off limits, and affecting the health of close to 1m people.
    But in 2009, Kazakhstan's National Nuclear center made the case that the northern portion of the site could safely be returned to commercial use, as radiation levels were now close to background levels.
    Sergei Lukashenko, Director of Radiational Security at the center, said that the IAEA's report, which has yet to be made public, supported his recommendation, the Telegraph (UK) reports.