By IPS Correspondents
MOSCOW, Sep 28 1996 (IPS)

Kirgizstan’s Ministry of Emergencies has issued a warning about radioactive contamination of a major river system follwoing reports that radioactive wastes dumped into old uranium mines could be ending up in the river Mayly-Suu.

So far 23 dumps have been identified and in all of them the drainage system is out of service.

“They needed to be sealed up completely with suitable protective covering. This would include concreting the river bed and installing new drainage systems,” says a Ministry official. “Alternatively the contents of the mines could be removed to the Kara Balta uranium processing plant for recycling.”

Kirgizstan has no operating uranium mines, but storage of wastes from past uranium processing has now led to a serious situation in the town of Mayly-Suu, south of Osh, which is recording gamma radiation at 10 times the norm.

Mayly-Suu was the site of several old uranium mine workings including a uranium processing facility closed in 1968. The suburbs of the town were destroyed by a landslide in March 1994 which stopped just short of one of the radioactive waste burial sites.

In June 1994 heavy rains and mudslides in southern Kirgizstan raised the level of the Mayly-Suu river which passes through the town of Mayly-Suu before it feeds into the Syr Darya river system in Uzbekistan.

High levels of radiation have since also been discovered in the Syr Darya river and are posing a threat to the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan, the country’s main centre for agriculture.

Uzbekistan has set up a special commission to organise work to build up the river banks. Plans are underway to install special facilities to divert the water if necessary. It has also appealed to Russia for help because lack of technical data about the mines is hampering work.

Uranium was extensively mined in the central region of Kirgizstan during the 1950s and 1960s but the mines were exhausted and closed by the 1970s. The site of many of them is still unknown and all the data is still held in Moscow.

The Uzhpolymetal Mining and Metallurgical Combine was established in 1951 60 kilometres west of Bishkek to process the uranium as an integral part of the Soviet nuclear industry. Its products were all sold via Moscow.

The mill also processes gold, tungsten and molybdenum and can handle one million tonnes of ore a year.

After the mines closed the combine continued to process uranium from Kazakhstan. The arrangement continued after independence and in 1992 the government set up the Kirgizaltyn state concern to be responsible for the mill. In mid-1994 Kirgizaltyn, allocated moneyu to reinforce a series of radioactive waste dumps in the south which were in danger of being eroded by flood water.

After the problem at Mayly-Suu, over 40 other waste sites at risk had been identified including Min-Kush, Kadim-Say and Shakaftar.

Kirgizaltyn has since changed its name to the Kara Balta Ore Mining Combine. However, its contracts to process uranium from Kazakhstan end this year.

Despite the serious environmental legacy from past operations, the combine is now considering redeveloping some of the old deep mines in central Kirgizstan using new in situ-leaching technology and plans to offer its services abroad.

In 1993 the mill underwent some reconstruction to reduce its production capacity for uranium from 3,600 to 1,800 tonnes a year and to increase gold production capacity from 10 tonnes to 20 tonnes a year.

Co-operation with Kazakhstan has not completely ended. In June 1996 a deal was agreed for the joint marketing of uranium and the possible establishment of a joint venture which would ultimately be privatised.

The combine is looking for foreign investment for modernisation. A process of privatisation began in 1995 which will initially leave 51 percent of the combine’s equity in government control.

Tackling the waste legacy will undoubtedly be a high priority and no easy task. Landslides and floods are regular occurrences each spring and contamination of the river is inevitable unless the old mine workings are properly reinforced.

As well as radioactivity from uranium mines there is also a growing danger due to the release of toxic wastes from old lead and mercury mines in the area.

Excerpt:

By IPS Correspondents
MOSCOW, Sep 26 1996 (IPS)

Kirgizstan’s Ministry of Emergencies has issued a warning about radioactive contamination of a major river system follwoing reports that radioactive wastes dumped into old uranium mines could be ending up in the river Mayly-Suu.

So far 23 dumps have been identified and in all of them the drainage system is out of service.

“They needed to be sealed up completely with suitable protective covering. This would include concreting the river bed and installing new drainage systems,” says a Ministry official. “Alternatively the contents of the mines could be removed to the Kara Balta uranium processing plant for recycling.”

Kirgizstan has no operating uranium mines, but storage of wastes from past uranium processing has now led to a serious situation in the town of Mayly-Suu, south of Osh, which is recording gamma radiation at 10 times the norm.

Mayly-Suu was the site of several old uranium mine workings including a uranium processing facility closed in 1968. The suburbs of the town were destroyed by a landslide in March 1994 which stopped just short of one of the radioactive waste burial sites.

In June 1994 heavy rains and mudslides in southern Kirgizstan raised the level of the Mayly-Suu river which passes through the town of Mayly-Suu before it feeds into the Syr Darya river system in Uzbekistan.

High levels of radiation have since also been discovered in the Syr Darya river and are posing a threat to the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan, the country’s main centre for agriculture.

Uzbekistan has set up a special commission to organise work to build up the river banks. Plans are underway to install special facilities to divert the water if necessary. It has also appealed to Russia for help because lack of technical data about the mines is hampering work.

Uranium was extensively mined in the central region of Kirgizstan during the 1950s and 1960s but the mines were exhausted and closed by the 1970s. The site of many of them is still unknown and all the data is still held in Moscow.

The Uzhpolymetal Mining and Metallurgical Combine was established in 1951 60 kilometres west of Bishkek to process the uranium as an integral part of the Soviet nuclear industry. Its products were all sold via Moscow.

The mill also processes gold, tungsten and molybdenum and can handle one million tonnes of ore a year.

After the mines closed the combine continued to process uranium from Kazakhstan. The arrangement continued after independence and in 1992 the government set up the Kirgizaltyn state concern to be responsible for the mill. In mid-1994 Kirgizaltyn, allocated moneyu to reinforce a series of radioactive waste dumps in the south which were in danger of being eroded by flood water.

After the problem at Mayly-Suu, over 40 other waste sites at risk had been identified including Min-Kush, Kadim-Say and Shakaftar.

Kirgizaltyn has since changed its name to the Kara Balta Ore Mining Combine. However, its contracts to process uranium from Kazakhstan end this year.

Despite the serious environmental legacy from past operations, the combine is now considering redeveloping some of the old deep mines in central Kirgizstan using new in situ-leaching technology and plans to offer its services abroad.

In 1993 the mill underwent some reconstruction to reduce its production capacity for uranium from 3,600 to 1,800 tonnes a year and to increase gold production capacity from 10 tonnes to 20 tonnes a year.

Co-operation with Kazakhstan has not completely ended. In June 1996 a deal was agreed for the joint marketing of uranium and the possible establishment of a joint venture which would ultimately be privatised.

The combine is looking for foreign investment for modernisation. A process of privatisation began in 1995 which will initially leave 51 percent of the combine’s equity in government control.

Tackling the waste legacy will undoubtedly be a high priority and no easy task. Landslides and floods are regular occurrences each spring and contamination of the river is inevitable unless the old mine workings are properly reinforced.

As well as radioactivity from uranium mines there is also a growing danger due to the release of toxic wastes from old lead and mercury mines in the area.

Excerpt: