Azerbaijan, Baku, 8 May / Trend I. Isabalaeva /
Construction of the first sterilization plant in Azerbaijan started in Gobu suburb near Baku within the scope of the joint project with the IAEA 'The launch of a sterilization plant with a strong gamma-ray emission in Azerbaijan', Director of the Institute of Radiation Problems of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Adil Garibov told Trend on Wednesday.
According to him, a group of representatives of the Institute of Isotopes of Hungary which won the tender announced by the IAEA for the construction of the sterilization plant, arrived in Baku.
"The frame of the plant has already been delivered. Now the Hungarians are working on assembling some details of the plant. The plant will be ready in about two years," Garibov said.
Dosimetric and microbiological laboratories will be installed for the quality control. The presence or absence of microorganisms in a product after its sterilization will be tested in the laboratory. The laboratories need new buildings construction of which can take three to four months.
Garibov said that such plants exist in all developed countries, and noted that after its commissioning various products will be irradiated with gamma rays and their useful time will increase. There is an international list of products that can be subjected to radiation and their harmless dose levels. The list of products includes wheat, dried fruit, spices, meat, meat products, wine, potatoes and other agricultural products.
Garibov said that irradiation in a sterilization plant is the most progressive method of killing germs.