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Uranium Waste Threatens Central Asia
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Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan May 2009-Radioactive dust, contaminated groundwater and toxic landslides and floods threaten more than five million people in Central Asia, experts at a recent conference said. The radioactive threat stems from toxic waste sites (92 in Kyrgyzstan alone) that contain uranium tailings as well as heavy metals. In addition to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, downstream Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are also vulnerable to exposure to the toxic material through earthqaukes, landslides and contaminated groundwater. “The state of these tailings, which contain large amounts of highly toxic wastes of uranium…over the tens of years since the shutdown of the facilities, has significantly worsened,” Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiev said in an address at the conference. The waste sites are a relic of the Soviet era, when the former Soviet Union mined the uranium for use in its nuclear arsenal. Now the sites are an ongoing hazard in the region. Already, the poorly guarded sites are visited by local villagers in search of scrap. In some areas, for instance, women and children graze livestock in contaminated areas. Mining towns have also suffered setbacks, with people left with few economic opportunities and dilipidated infrastructure. “Tailings and dump sites are a wonderful place for livestock grazing with lots of grass,” Zharas Takenov, an environmental programme officer with the United Nations Development Programme, said. “Tailings are covered with flat squares which are also well fit for children’s football matches.” Regionally, earthquakes and related landslides or mudslides could spread the radioactive material to rivers affecting groundwater in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. At the moment, the uranium tailings are loosely contained in impounding areas and dams. “There is a problem concerning inventory of dams,” Mr. Takenov cautioned. “At some, an inventory [of the dam’s condition] has not been made in 30 years.” In response to these issues, the Kyrgyzstan government initiated a partnership with the UNDP. Priorities for the programme include proper management of dangerous sites, countermeasures such as recycling and raising public awareness. “Our approach is to help and teach,” Mr. Takenov said. Funding for such programmes is also critical, particularly in the face of the global economic distress. At the moment, the UNDP estimates roughly US $42 million is needed to rehabilitate the toxic waste sites and minimize the regional environmental threats. As a result, the UNDP and the Kyrgyzstan government organized the Bishkek conference to develop a coordinated action plan. As the problem is an international one, the conference included officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well donors. Results from that meeting are to be presented at a conference in Geneva on June 29. |
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