The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has awarded the Regional Center for Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear Safety (CBRN), based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the status of a regional center for Central Asia.
During a special ceremony held on 23 January 2025 at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, the Center was also awarded an international accreditation certificate.
The status of a regional center for Central Asian countries opens up new opportunities for cooperation, according to the Agency for Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear Safety of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan.
Henceforth, the Center will offer training and research services to specialists from across the Central Asian region, including law enforcement and military personnel. Research will focus on nuclear forensics, biosafety, and chemical analytics.
The new Regional Center was opened in 2024. It accommodates 16 research laboratories in the fields of chemistry, biology, and unique scientific laboratories in the fields of immunology, virology, biosafety, and nuclear forensics, which serve to study and diagnose chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear materials.
The international accreditation by the IAEA confirms that the Center meets strict requirements in the field of CBRN safety, including equipment, staff training and research.
Among the 180 member-nations of the IAEA, such regional centers for nuclear and radiation safety operate in only 11 countries around the world. Tajikistan became the 12th country where such a center was established and accredited. Tajikistan is now on a par with such major powers as the United States, Russia, Great Britain, Japan, China, France and others.///nCa, 29 January 2025