Project on the Iraq former nuclear complex

Decommissioning of the Iraq former nuclear complex

Current News

	Launch of the Iraq Nuclear Decommissioning Project website - Welcome to this new website for the project to decommission the Iraq former nuclear complex. Both IAEA and the Government of Iraq view this overall ... read more

	Discussions with Iraq Minister of the Environment The Iraq Minister of Environment, Ms Narmin Barzinjy , and her Deputy Minister Mr Kamal Latif, have been invited to Vienna for discussions regarding regulatory oversight of ... read more

	Preparation for the first ‘hands on’ dismantling work The programme is building up towards the first ‘hands on’ demolition activity which will begin in the summer. In preparation for this there will be a hectic series of meetings... read more

Project Overview

There are a number of sites in Iraq which have been used for nuclear activities and which contain potentially significant amounts of radioactive material. Many of these sites suffered substantial physical damage during the Gulf Wars and several have been subject to looting of materials and equipment as a consequence of the challenging security situation in the country. All of these sites have some degree of contamination and require decommissioning and remediation in order to ensure radiological safety.

In December 2004 the Government of Iraq requested IAEA assistance to determine the effort needed to implement this work and to set up plans and programmes for its delivery. An initiating meeting was convened in Vienna in February 2006 attended by the Iraqi Minister for Science and Technology and by representatives from sixteen countries and the European Commission. The meeting agreed the broad scope of the assistance project. The project is coordinated by the Waste and Environmental Safety Section within the IAEA Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety, with input and support from other IAEA Divisions and by many Member States. The project is supported financially by contributions from the United States.

The current project activities address the following broad fields:

The development of a new nuclear law and supporting regulations, together with the formation of a new Regulatory Body building from the experience of the existing regulators
The identification and characterisation of all the relevant nuclear sites and facilities
The development of a system to prioritise the decommissioning activities across all the sites/facilities
The preparation of a decommissioning and waste management strategy and plan
Building the capacity and experience of Iraqi personnel and organisations in the field of nuclear decommissioning
Supporting the development of the Iraqi decommissioning programme management organisation
Preparation for the initial hands-on dismantling and decommissioning project within the programme

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