Center for monitoring radioactive materials opened in Uzbekistan

Interfax October 7 Uzbekistan's institute of nuclear physics has opened a center for monitoring radioactive materials, sources in the Uzbek Academy of Sciences told Interfax. The center will analyze and identify materials, measure radioactive levels of various objects and monitor the environment. An academy spokesman said that "the center has been established to meet the increasingly stringent international nuclear safety requirements, to observe the principles of nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to promote the struggle against terrorism, and reflects the necessity to tighten border and customs control." "The center will broaden the institute's analytical capabilities and facilitate research and practical work in various fields," the spokesman said. The Uzbek Institute of Nuclear Physics has a 10-megawatt nuclear reactor which was put into operation in 1969. Experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency inspected the reactor in 1993 and 1998. The institute is participating in international programs, including programs launched by the IAEA and NATO.