Alexander Nikolaevich Borisenko,
Chairman of the Board of “Nuclear Technology Park” JSC

1. Dear Alexander Nikolaevich, at present the development of nuclear (nuclear) technology involves not only the building of nuclear power plants, but also a large range of high-tech productions. People are increasingly encountering their end products in their daily lives. Please tell us what range of services and products does PNT offer today?

Indeed, at present, products worth several tens of billions of dollars a year are produced in the world using radiation technologies, with an annual growth rate of about 20%. The development of radiation technologies is conditioned by high energy efficiency of radiation, which leads to significant energy saving in comparison with traditional technologies, high penetrating ability of radiation, possibility of radiation dosing during materials processing, absence of contamination of irradiated products.

The Park's subsidiaries have mastered the production of radiation-modified building materials:

  • radiation-cross-linked polyethylene foam sold under the trade mark "ECOIZOL";
  • waterproofing roofing material made using radiation vulcanization of ethylene propylene rubber, with the trademark "KROVLEN";
  • heat shrinkable tape for insulation of oil and gas pipelines, made of radiation-cross-linked polyethylene with the trade mark "BETAIZOL".

The park performs radiation sterilization of a wide range of medical products on an industrial basis.
Several projects in agricultural production and food security are also being implemented.

A great achievement of the Park is mastering the technology of production of radiation-cross-linked polymeric water-absorbing superabsorbents for agricultural purposes. The main application of water-absorbing superabsorbents is moisture storage in the surface layer of soils during the flooding period and its preservation during the vegetation period. Water-absorbing superabsorbents are produced in the Park under the trade mark "BETASORB".

2. How safe are the products of your enterprise, as well as the production as a whole?

All products are environmentally friendly. The electron energy and irradiation dose used is insufficient to generate induced radioactivity. The entire production process is automated, the process control and treatment of materials by radiation is carried out in accordance with labor safety standards and the contact of personnel directly with the source of ionizing radiation is excluded.

3. Do you plan to increase the range of products and services at PNT in the future?

Yes, it is planned. Active work is underway to attract investment in the planned projects. So, in 2020 the official start was announced for the project KAZ 5005 of the IAEA Technical Cooperation "Processing of food with ionizing radiation". But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the project was extended for another year. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2023. As a result, we will have an accredited EPR test laboratory and a regulatory framework for food radiation treatment that has been approved by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Specifically, 69 countries have approval for the irradiation of more than 80 types of products, and about 40 countries conduct radiation treatment of food products on an ongoing basis.

It is also planned to launch a project "Development and optimization of SIT (Sterile Insect Technique) in Kazakhstan to enhance regional biosafety and biosecurity through control of reproductive activity of blood-sucking bipterous populations", based on the sterile insect technique.

This is an environmentally friendly method of insect pest control that involves mass rearing and sterilization, using radiation, of the target pest, followed by the systematic release of sterile males through the air in certain areas where they mate with wild females, resulting in no offspring and a reduction in pest numbers. This is an effective method of suppressing the mosquito population without the use of insecticides, which is very relevant for some areas of Kazakhstan.

This project is generally aimed at solving problems in medicine, veterinary medicine (prevention of diseases carried by blood-sucking insects and creation of favorable conditions outdoors in warm seasons) and plant protection from insect pests.
Another project is planned to be implemented within the framework of the “Kazkabelproduct” Production Sector Consortium, together with “KazElectromash” LLP. The project involves creation of a radiation-processing unit for modification of polymer cable insulation based on the ELV-4 electron gas pedal. Cable and wire products that have undergone radiation treatment (cross-linking) are characterized by increased reliability and withstand extreme loads during operation in various unfavorable conditions.

4. Recently there has been an increasing trend to include nuclear power in the "green" category, how justified is it?

It is quite justified. And it's not even so much about the absence of CO2 emissions at the nuclear power plant itself. Let's compare the specific metal intensity of equipment per megawatt of generated electricity (t/MW). For a nuclear power plant (VVER-1500) - 13 t/MW, for a thermal power plant (P-57) - 25 t/MW, for a typical wind power plant - 75 t/MW. This indicator reflects the density of energy flow with which generating sources work. If we take into account the coefficient of utilization of the installed capacity of generating sources, it will worsen this indicator for wind turbines several times more. But the production of metals is energy-intensive in itself and also generates a large amount of emissions. Considering also the factor of limited resources and the growth of the population on the planet, what technology should we choose?

As for the building of a nuclear power plant (NPP) in Kazakhstan, I see a certain ambivalence on this issue in most opponents. When the rejection of nuclear power in Kazakhstan is combined with the acceptance of the world's largest domestic production of uranium for this very energy in the rest of the world, i.e. "to preserve innocence and acquire capital". If we do not accept the nuclear technology due to its imperfection or unreasonable risks, then maybe we should stop uranium mining till our descendants have new more perfect technologies? But if today we are the largest producer and supplier of uranium, then we de facto recognize nuclear power and nuclear power plants, no matter where they will be built in Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan. I am in favor of the use of Kazakhstani uranium at Kazakhstani NPPs.

5. One of the services of your organization is "RADIATION STERILIZATION BY ILU-10", let's imagine for a moment that all other methods of sterilization disappeared at once... What would that lead to, what would be the effect?

Sterilization with ethylene oxide is now widely used around the world. Ethylene oxide is toxic, possibly carcinogenic, and easily flammable. After sterilization, time is required for aeration. They usually have a small sterilization chamber size, which reduces the speed and the amount of sterilization.

Radiation is a safe and cost-effective method for sterilizing disposable medical items such as surgical kits made of nonwoven material, syringes, and surgical gloves.

About 12 million cubic meters of medical materials are sterilized each year using radiation.

Because ionizing radiation sterilization allows treatment without opening the package or opening the box, the volume of sterilized items is several times greater than other sterilization methods. The product can be used immediately, without additional exposure.