Toxic pollution Pressure

Numerous slagheaps and tailing sites of mining enterprises, where radioactive substances were utilised, salts of heavy metals, cyanides containing substances, caused serious danger. The characteristics of radioactive wastes sites on the territory of Kyrgyzstan: Quantity: 49. Occupied area, thousand m2:3469 Main pollutants: uranium group of elements, sulphates, nitrates, and cyanides; gamma-radiation exposition phase power fluctuation change diapason, microR/h: minimum 10-40 Maximum 20-800; Special characteristics of tailing sites: 31% of them are slurry; Possible pressure on the environment: 40 percent are under the threat of floods in zone of possible landslide and debris flow affect.

They are located, as a rule, in intermountain hollows and narrow gullies, cones and flood lands of the rivers. With recent activation of the catastrophic phenomena of landslide, debris flow and erosive processes, the threat of pollution of environment essentially grows. The pollution with nitrates, petroleum and chemical weed and pest killers is observed on all the territory of the Republic, but especially in the southern areas of the Republic and Chui valley are subjected to this process.

According to the State Agency on Hydrometeorology data, water flows of the SyrDarya and Chu rivers basins are most subjected to pollution. During the last years, a serious ecological danger is represented by refuelling stations built very often without ecological examination of the project, and sometimes without the project at all. The failures on chemically dangerous productions are often accompanied by explosions and fires resulted in formation of new highly toxic substances, infection of air by virulent poisonous substances of dangerous concentration.

Technical condition of large hydraulic engineering structures, especially reservoirs located in seismically active zones that can result in natural ecological catastrophes is of great concern. Use of agricultural chemicals was reduced from 7,303 tonnes in 1960 to 1,900 tonnes in 1994. It is equivalent to use of 5.2 kg/hectare in 1960 and 1.4 kg/hectare in 1994. The indicated figures are rather low: average consumption of chemicals in the USA makes up from 6 till 7 kg/hectare, and in the European Union of 6.6 kg/hectare, nevertheless, with the residues of pesticides approximately 380 thousand hectares were polluted. Unfortunately, currently there is practically no monitoring use of agricultural pesticides and their impact on the environment.

References: National environmental action plan. Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek, 1995.

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