Underground and in the Shadows: How Uzbekistan Lives With Its Radioactive Legacy |
Since the Soviet era, large uranium mines and radioactive waste storage facilities have operated across Uzbekistan. Key sites include the former uranium complexes of Yangiabad in the Tashkent region and Charkesar, where remediation efforts are currently underway. Uzbekistan also possesses uranium reserves in the Navoi region and other areas and participates in international initiatives aimed at addressing the legacy of uranium mining.
Despite the launch of rehabilitation projects, radioactive legacy sites remain a source of long-term risk in Uzbekistan. Many of them are officially classified as “conserved,” yet their actual condition, the effectiveness of isolation measures, and the results of environmental monitoring remain inaccessible to the public. Residents living near former uranium sites often have little or no information about potential risks.
Experts emphasize that this is not only an environmental issue, but also a climate-related, humanitarian, and potentially transboundary threat.
Where Are the Dangerous Sites and What Is Known About Their Condition?
An underground tunnel of a former uranium mine near Yangiabad, with remnants of rail infrastructure used during Soviet-era extraction. The photograph was taken before the site was sealed and access restricted. Photo provided by independent source, used with permission.
According to nuclear physicist and co-founder of the public program Radioactive Waste Safety Andrei Ozharovsky, one of the key problems is the absence of publicly available data.
“Without open maps, monitoring results, and access for independent specialists, it is impossible to objectively assess the real risks posed by uranium tailings,” Ozharovsky noted.
International assessments and expert observations indicate that major uranium-related sites are located in the areas of Yangiabad, Charkesar, Uchkuduk, and other parts of the Navoi region. Many of these facilities were built decades ago and were never designed to withstand the climatic conditions Central Asia is facing today.
Ozharovsky stressed that any tailings facility left without long-term oversight inevitably degrades: protective layers erode, dams age, and groundwater pathways change.
Why Uranium Contamination Does Not Simply Disappear
Independent peer-reviewed studies show that uranium contamination often persists long after mining operations have ceased. In both in-situ leached and conventional uranium mining areas, uranium is converted into a chemically mobile form capable of migrating through groundwater systems. Even years after closure, contaminated aquifers frequently fail to return to baseline conditions, despite large-scale pumping and flushing efforts.
Researchers describe a “rebound effect,” in which dissolved uranium and associated metals gradually remobilize from the surrounding rock back into groundwater due to long-term chemical instability.
Environmental assessments also point to the structural limitations of remediation technologies. While methods such as water flushing, pumping systems, or reverse osmosis can temporarily reduce contamination, they do not always eliminate it entirely. In many cases, concentrations of uranium,........