After reports that many of the US military who had served at the Karshi-Khanabad military base were exposed to radiation and some had tumours, the Ministry of Defense organized a press tour to the airfield. Servicemen who were interviewed by reporters dismissed allegations of existence of radiation sources.
Donald Trump, the day before the end of his term, signed an executive concerning the American military serving at the Karshi-Khanabad airfield.
This order instructed to provide the military who served at the Karshi-Khanabad airfield between 2001-2005 were designated as veterans who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations.
It was reported that 75 percent of the 15,777 US troops who arrived in Uzbekistan to take part in the anti-terrorist campaign in Afghanistan subsequently developed cancer or other diseases, with the alleged reason is the presence of radiation and toxic contamination sources at the Khanabad airfield.
According to Islombek Bokijonov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection, the Khanabad airfield in Kashkadarya was at one time intended for aircraft spraying chemicals.
Bokijonov noted that the airfield was a security area, so there was no access there, and the ecological situation of the territory has not been studied. The committee said that after the stories published in the media, the airfield will be checked.
On February 16, the sposesman to the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan Bakhrom Zulfikorov commented on reports about the presence of radiation and toxic radiation at the Khanabad airfield at a press conference on February 16, and noted that those were mere reports by non-experts. According to Zulfikorov, military personnel and other workers from Uzbekistan, who served for 30 years at a military airfield, did not have any of the diseases like did the American military.
The Ministry of Defense then organized a press tour to Khanabad for journalists to clarify the topic and talk with workers and pilots.
"None of devices that measures environmental poisoning have not indicated the presence of radiation"
During the press tour, the journalists were shown devices that measure radiation and the state of the air at the Khanabad airfield.
Experts talked about these devices. According to the military man Maruf Musayev, who has been serving at the airfield for 8 years, over many years, not a single military has experienced any deterioration in health.
"After those stories surfaced, people panicked a little."
According to Zhasurbek Nuriddinov, a third-year cadet of the Higher Military Aviation School, reports on social networks about the presence of foci of radiation exposure at the military airfield slightly worried the cadets.
“I think social media reports of radiation are fake. Until now, we have not heard that anyone here had cancer. Our teachers have been serving here for many years, and everyone is in good health.
Such diseases can occur if a person in the aviation industry does not follow safety precautions. We were well taught the safety rules. We undergo medical examination once a year, ”said the cadet.
"For 25 years I have not heard that anyone here got cancer"
52-year-old electrician Rukhiddin Fayzullayev, who has been working in the military unit for many years, noted that so far, neither the military personnel nor the local population have had any cases of cancer.
“I have been working here since 1994. I have two children. I live in the village of Khanabad. All my relatives also work in the military unit.
We, like the military, undergo medical examination. The villagers are also checked. I have never heard that someone got cancer. Everything is all right,” said Ruiddin Fayzullayev.
