Preface: uranium mining legacy issue in Central Asia

摘要

The Central Asian Republics were the major suppliers of uranium for the nuclear weapons and nuclear energy program of the former Soviet Union. Uranium ore mining and processing were initiated in the former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan shortly after Second World War, and lasted for almost half a century. It has been estimated that during the Soviet period about 30-40 % of the uranium needed was extracted from the region. Uranium-rich materials were also transported from several former East-European socialist countries to the Central Asian region for processing. The uranium used for the first Soviet nuclear bomb was mined in Central Asia, transported to Mayak PA, Ural, for production of weapon grade materials at the end of 1948, and the first nuclear detonation took place in Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan on 29th August, 1949.