MAILUU-SUU, KYRGYZSTAN
Potentially affected people: 23,000 immediate, millions potentially
Type of pollutants: Radioactive uranium mine tailings. Gamma radiation from the dumps measures in between 100-600 micro-roentgens per hour. Heavy metals, and cyanides.
Site description: There are twenty-three tailing dumps and thirteen waste rock dumps scattered throughout Mailuu-Suu, home to a former Soviet uranium plant. From 1946-1968 the plant produced and processed more than 10,000 metric tons of uranium ore, products which were eventually used to produce the Soviet Union’s first atomic bomb. What remains now are not atomic bombs, but 1.96 million cubic meters of radioactive mining waste that threatens the entire Ferghana valley, one of the most fertile and densely populated area in Central Asia.
Due to the high rates of seismic activity in the area, millions of people in Central Asia are potentially at risk from a failure of the waste containment. Natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and mudflows, all have the potential to exacerbate problems associated with the location and mismanagement of these tailing piles. It is feared that a landslide could disturb one of the dumps and either expose radioactive material within the core of the enormous waste piles or push part of them into nearby rivers. This fear that was nearly realized in May of 2002 when a huge mudslide blocked the course of the Mailuu-Suu river and threatened to submerge another waste site. In April of this year the Obschestvenny Reiting newspaper reported that about 300,000 cubic meters of material fell into the Mailuu-Suu River near the uranium mine tailings, the result of yet another landslide. Events such as these could potentially contaminate water drunk by hundreds of thousands of people in the Ferghana Valley, shared by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The poor design and management of the waste areas also allows transfer of some material from these piles to surrounding areas by runoff. Research has found some groups getting very high doses of radon probably due to use of this runoff water in agricultural practices. Risk analyses have also been conducted to assess the radioactive contamination that could occur with more natural disasters, and have found these could lead to potential large-scale environmental contamination. A 1999 study conducted by the Institute of Oncology and Radioecology showed that twice as many residents suffered from some form of cancer than in the rest of the country.
Cleanup Activity: The World Bank has begun a project for Kyrgyzstan to “minimize the exposure of humans, livestock, and riverine flora and fauna to radionuclide associated with abandoned uranium mine tailings and waste rock dumps in the Mailuu-Suu area”. The project includes uranium mining wastes isolation and protection, improvement to the national system for disaster management, preparedness and response and the establishment of real-time monitoring and warning systems, seismic stations and sensors. The total cost of the project is 11.76 million U.S. dollars, of which 6.9 million dollars will be provided by the bank's International Development Association, an institution that gives aid to the world's poorest countries.
INFORMATION
IRIN News Org. “KYRGYZSTAN: Landslide close to Mailuu-Suu uranium dump”. UN Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (2005) April 14.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?...ntry=KYRGYZSTAN
IRIN News Org. “KYRGYZSTAN: Mailuu-Suu closely monitored following recent landslide.” UN Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (2005) May.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?...lectRegion=Asia
Sarah MacGregor. “Finding a Solution for Uranium Waste in Kyrgyzstan.” OSCE. (2004) February 4.
http://www.osce.org/item/181.html
Environment News Service (ENS). “Kyrgyz Republic Funded to Secure Uranium Waste Dumps” Mines and Communities Website. (2004). June 17.
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press375.htm
M. Kozlova. “Worries Fester over radioactive tailings”. Asia Water Wire.
http://www.asiawaterwire.net/node/74
“Safety of Uranium Dumps in Kirghizia Calls For Attention of International Community” Pravada (2003) April 21.
http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2003/04/21/46158.html
Nurlan Djenchuraev. Current Environmental issues associated with mining wastes in Kyrgyzstan. Master of science. Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of Central European University. (1999).
http://enrin.grida.no/case_studies/...a/kyrgyz_12.pdf