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Kyrgyzstan: Radioactive Waste

 

As of 1999 there were 36 uranium tailings sites and 25 uranium mining dump sites on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.[1]  Most of the sites are associated with the Mayli-Suu uranium processing facility in Jalalabad Oblast.  Other radioactive waste sites include the Kara-Balta Ore Mining Combine, Kadzhi-Say, Khaidarkan, Min Kush, Samsar River, Shekaftar, and Terek-Say.

 

Many waste sites are located in areas prone to earthquakes and landslides and thus pose an environmental safety hazard to Kyrgyzstan and the region.  The crumbling tailings sites at Maily-Suu, for example, have been breached because of past landslides, spilling waste into the nearby Maily-Suu river, which feeds into the Syr Darya, the main water source for the populous Fergana Valley.

 

In March 1999, ownership of the waste sites was transferred from Kara-Balta Ore Mining Combine and other entities to the Ministry of Emergencies and Civil Defense, which embarked on a TACIS-funded project to monitor the sites and to draw up a long-term clean-up plan.[2]  On 29 January 2001 the Kyrgyzstani Parliament passed a bill on waste sites that would provide additional funding for disposal of radioactive waste.[3]
Sources:
[1] G. D., "Kak ukrotit khvosty," Vecherniy Bishkek online edition, http://vb.kyrnet.kg/1999/03/30/05.htm, No. 60, 30 March 1999.

[2] E. Putalova, "Pora obrezat khvosty," Vecherniy Bishkek online edition, http://vb.kyrnet.kg/1999/03/15/12.htm, No. 49, 15 March 1999.
[3] Alisher Khamidov, "Kyrgyzstan Tackles Toxic Waste," Transitions Online Web Site, http://www.tol.cz, 4 February 2001.{Updated 2/16/01 KB}

 

KADZHI-SAY

A large uranium tailings site containing approximately 150,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste is located near the village of Kadzhi-Say in a dry riverbed valley 1.5km from the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul.  

Sources:
[1] Daniil Kyshtobayev, "Uranium Waste In Kyrgyzstan," Slovo Kyrgyzstana, 1 July 1994;  in Environmental Policy Review, Winter 1994, Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 15.
[2] Yuriy Razgulyayev, "Radioaktivnyye tochki na karte Kirgizii," Delovoy mir, 6 March 1997, p. 1; in WPS, No. 9, 14 March 1997, p. 13.{Updated 2/16/01 KB)

 

KHAIDARKAN

An industrial waste storage facility is located near the village of Khaidarkan in a seismically active area 7km north of a tectonic fault.

[Daniil Kyshtobayev, "Uranium Waste In Kyrgyzstan," Slovo Kyrgyzstana, 1 July 1994;  in Environmental Policy Review, Winter 1994, Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 15.]

 

MAYLI-SUU

From 1946 to 1968, over 10,000 metric tons (t) of uranium ore was processed at Mayli-Suu, located north of Osh in Jalalabad Oblast, to provide raw material for the Soviet nuclear weapons arsenal.  The facility processed both locally mined ore and ore brought in from other parts of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.[1]  Approximately 2.5 million cubic meters of radioactive waste remains in 23 tailings ponds and 15 dump sites.[2,3]  The exact amount and composition of the waste are not known, because the records were taken to Moscow after the plant closed and Russians have rejected Kyrgyzstani requests for access to the documents.  The material is buried under thin layers of gravel, sand, and clay.  Earthquakes and landslides common to the area threaten to send the material into the nearby Mayli-Suu river and ultimately into the water system of the heavily populated Fergana Valley through the Kara Darya and Syr Darya rivers.  In 1958 metric tons of material spilled into the Mayli-Suu river when a tailings reservoir broke.[3]  A landslide in July 1994 pushed 1,000 cubic meters of radioactive material into the river and contaminated dozens of square kilometers of land.[1]  The city of Mayli-Suu, population 24,000, stretches for seven miles along the Mayli-Suu river, downstream from the tailings ponds.[3]
Sources:
[1] Interfax, 25 February, 1999; in "Kyrgyz Cabinet Urged to Protect Nuclear Storage Sites," FBIS Document FTS19990225001079.
[2] "Posledstviya uranovoy promyshlennosti na Tyan-Shane," Anti-Atom Press Information Bulletin, Ecoline Web Site, http://cci.glasnet.ru/antinuclear/rus/aap/index.htm, No. 153, January 1998.
[3] Douglas Frantz, "Maili Suu Journal: Living at Ground Zero of Possible Atomic Disaster," New York Times, 21 October 2000, p. 4; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.{Updated 2/16/01 KB} 

 

MIN KUSH

Four tailing sites are located near the village of Min Kush, including one containing 450,000 cubic meters of waste.
["Posledstviya uranovoy promyshlennosti na Tyan-Shane," Anti-Atom Press Information Bulletin, Ecoline Web Site, http://cci.glasnet.ru/antinuclear/rus/aap/index.htm, No. 153, January 1998.]{Entered 2/16/01 KB}

 

SAMSAR RIVER

Three tailings ponds near the Samsar River containing 4.5 million tons of radioactive uranium rock, lead, and toxic heavy metal salts have been partially eroded allowing a constant inflow of heavy metal pollutants.  The Sanitation Authority of Kyrgyzstan reports that the river's manganese level is nine times higher and the cadmium content 320 times higher than the maximum permissible concentrations (neither of these elements can be flushed from the human body).

[Daniil Kyshtobayev, "Uranium Waste In Kyrgyzstan," Slovo Kyrgyzstana, 1 July 1994;  in Environmental Policy Review, Winter 1994, Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 15.]

 

SHEKAFTAR

Eight radioactive waste dumps similar to those in Kadzhi-Say are located near apartment blocks in the village of Shekaftar.

Sources:
[1] Daniil Kyshtobayev, "Uranium Waste In Kyrgyzstan," Slovo Kyrgyzstana, 1 July 1994;  in Environmental Policy Review, Winter 1994, Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 15.
[2] "Radioaktivnyye tochki na karte Kirgizii," Delovoy mir, 3 June 1997.{Updated 2/16/01 KB)

 

TEREK-SAY

A tailings site is located near the village of Terek-Say in the Chatkal mountain range.  Heavy rains cause toxic substances to filter into the ground at this site.

[Daniil Kyshtobayev, "Uranium Waste In Kyrgyzstan," Slovo Kyrgyzstana, 1 July 1994;  in Environmental Policy Review, Winter 1994, Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 15.]

 

RADIOACTIVE WASTE DEVELOPMENTS:

 

11/99: ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK CONSIDERING CLEAN-UP PROJECT

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering providing Kyrgyzstan with a low-interest loan of approximately $20 million to finance the clean-up of contamination at Kyrgyzstani uranium mining sites, according to a representative of the ADB. If approved, the project would commence with a six-month study of the country's major mines to determine which sites need to be cleaned up first and what sort of infrastructure will be necessary.  The second stage of the project will be the actual clean-up work at one to three sites, which may cost up to $30 million. The ADB loan is conditional upon Kyrgyzstan banning all uranium mining and processing activity. Depending on the length of negotiations, the initial study could begin in the first half of 2000, and implementation could begin in 2001. The ADB is considering providing assistance to clean up all major uranium sites.

[CNS NIS Representative Office Discussion with ADB Representative, 1 November 1999, KYR991107.] {Entered 11/19/99 LBN}

 

9/97:  ENVIRONMENT MINISTER DOWNPLAYS RADIATION DANGER AT LAKE ISSYK-KUL

Kyrgyzstani Environment Minster Kulubek Bokonbayev held a special press conference in Bishkek to halt rumors that radiation levels at Lake Issyk-Kul are hazardous.  Bokonbayev said that analyses demonstrated that radiation levels are only 12 to 18 R/h [sic--should be 12 to 18 microroentgens/h], three to four times less than the maximum allowable level, along the northern shores of the lake, where most sanatoriums and resort beaches are located.  Bokonbayev dismissed rumors that Chinese nuclear tests at Lop Nor have increased radiation in tourist zones.  He added that the higher levels of radiation along the southern shores resulting from closed uranium mines are not high enough to pose any danger to human health.

[Yuriy Razgulyayev, "Kupaniye v Issyk-Kule nichem ne ugrozhayet," Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 7 September 1997, p. 6.] [entered 1/29/98 djw]

 

 1/5/96: NUCLEAR POLLUTION OF LAKE ISSYK-KUL

The German newspaper Die Zeit reports that Lake Issyk-Kul has been polluted by radioactivity from Chinese nuclear testing at Lop Nor. Kyrgyz officials quickly refuted the charge by saying that the levels of background radiation at Issyk-Kul range between 15 and 26 mcR/hr, which is well below the permissible level of 60 mcR/hr. This topic is especially controversial because Kyrgyz leaders hope to make Issuk-Kul into a fashionable resort area.

[Edil Baissaloff (ed.), Kyrgyz News Digest On-Line, Kyrgyz American School, edil@kaf.freenet.bishkek.su, 15 February 1996.]

 

8/95: NUCLEAR TESTS IN CHINA

A Kyrgyz scientist named K. Karimov reported at a press conference that the Chinese have been conducting nuclear tests at Lop Nor in the spring and fall, those times of year when the Chinese are certain that the radioactive fallout will travel along prevailing wind currents away from China to Kyrgyzstan. The effects of the nuclear wind have caused heart, lung, and blood irregularities and disorders among the Kyrgyz population.

[Aleksandr Ivanov, "Nuclear Wind From China," Literaturnaya gazeta, 2 August 1995, p. 2.]

 

8/95: RADIATION LEVELS AROUND LAKE ISSYK-KUL

The Kyrgyz Commission on Emergency Situations conducted a survey of the radiation levels in and around Lake Issyk-Kul. They found that levels averaged 15-18 microroentgen (mcr) an hour which, according to the Commission, does not exceed typical levels for Kyrgyzstan - 25.5 mcr/hr. They accused Russian mass media of "information exaggeration" in reporting high radiation levels at the lake, a popular Russian tourist destination.

[Viktor Kiyanitsa, "Radiation Fears Scare Tourists Away from Kyrgyzstan," Moscow News, 18-24 August 1995, No. 32, p. 14.]

 

7/14/95: OFFICIAL STATEMENT ABOUT RADIATION LEVEL AROUND LAKE ISSYK-KUL

K. Omuraliyev, head of Kyrgyzstan's Sanitary and Epidemic Office, stated that radiation levels at Lake Issyk-Kul do not exceed levels common for that type of terrain, contrary to Russian mass media reports.

["Rumors of High Radiation Levels at Lake Issyk-Kul Denied," FBIS-TEN-95-011, 14 July 1995.]

 

8/5/94: RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE

The state gold company Kyrgyzaltyn is working to reinforce the storage sites for radioactive waste that are in danger of being flooded. The approximate cost is 240 million rubles (US$115,000).

[BBC Monitoring Service Summary of World Broadcasts, 5 August 1994.]

 

7/20/94: KYRGYZSTAN SEEKING COMPENSATION FOR NUCLEAR POLLUTION

Kyrgyzstan is asking the nuclear successor states to the Soviet Union (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine) to compensate Kyrgyzstan for the contamination of its rivers and soil by uranium mining. More than 40 pits, dug to supply raw uranium for the USSR's nuclear weapons program, have been identified, and it is believed that due to unsafe mining practices these pits are leaching radioactive material into groundwater. 250 million rubles allocated by the United Nations is considered insufficient to relocate even a single town.

[Galina Bilyalitdinova, Pravda, 10 August 1994, p. 2; in Central Eurasia, "Lack Of Progress In Cleaning Up Pollution From Uranium Mining Criticized," 10 August 1994.]

 

1991: LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ENTERS INTO FORCE

This law guarantees the right to a wholesome environment while defining the obligations of the state, other authorities and concerned enterprises with respect to environmental protection.

[NISNP discussion with Ukrainian nuclear engineer, June 1995.]

 

Last updated 28 June 2001

Comments or questions? Contact Kenley Butler at MIIS CNS: Kenley.Butler@miis.edu

This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2002 by MIIS.

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