Algeria Continues Cleanup of Former French Nuclear Test Sites

The High Command of the People’s National Army has reaffirmed that Algeria is resolutely pressing ahead with efforts to decontaminate former French nuclear test sites in the country’s south, in the face of France’s continued evasion of criminal responsibility and its refusal to hand over records and maps identifying nuclear waste burial sites.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Ministry of National Defence announced the launch of the second phase of decontamination operations at the Beryl E2 underground nuclear test tunnel in the In Ekker area of Tamanrasset, within the Sixth Military Region. The operation coincides with celebrations marking the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of Algeria’s Glorious Revolution.

The statement said the operation aims to remove radioactive waste from the former French nuclear testing site using national expertise and resources. It is being conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defence, in coordination with the National Agency for the Rehabilitation of Former French Nuclear Tests and Explosion Sites in Southern Algeria, in accordance with applicable national and international standards.

The Ministry stressed that France’s continued evasion of its criminal responsibility, coupled with its refusal to provide records and maps detailing the locations where nuclear waste was buried, has left a persistent obstacle to development in both In Ekker, in Tamanrasset, and Reggane, in Adrar. Against this backdrop, Algerian specialists are determined to achieve the comprehensive decontamination of the nuclear legacy left behind by French colonial rule in the country’s vast southern regions, paving the way for the rehabilitation of these sites in the future.

The Ministry described the complex operation, for which the Algerian state has mobilised all necessary human and material resources, as a genuine test of the capabilities of national experts, who are tasked with ensuring its successful completion. The work will be carried out in strict compliance with all safety requirements and relevant international protocols and standards governing the identification of radioactive zones, the collection of nuclear waste, and its storage in specially designed concrete containers.