Village of Telman. Destroyed Warehouse of Outdated Pesticides
Ortoevsky District. Kuramin Rural District. Telman Village. Destroyed storage of outdated pesticides.
The storage is completely destroyed, there is no smell, no hazardous waste, no traces on the soil.
The Chuy region has been subjected to the greatest anthropogenic impact in the north of the republic. Most of the storages are destroyed, and the territorial movement/location of previously stored hazardous waste is unknown. During the inventory, a large number of contaminated areas of former storages with unidentified hazardous waste and contaminated packaging seeping into the soil, possibly into groundwater, were also discovered.
In total, more than 96 sites were identified in the Chuy region from previous inventories, of which the location for 45 sites could not be established (the sites had previously noted that the storage was completely destroyed, there is no smell, no hazardous waste, and there are no mentions of soil contamination). These sites may be potentially dangerous, as soil contamination may be significant in some areas.
More than 51 sites were surveyed in the Chuy region, and many sites from previous inventories were indicated with incorrect coordinates. The search for such sites was conducted with the involvement of local government leaders and territorial specialists from the State Inspectorate for Environmental and Technical Safety (after the government restructuring - GCEC) and the Department of Agriculture and Land Use. The locations of old storages were established using old photographs and Google Earth Pro. Most storages have a smaller amount of pesticides compared to previous data. Some hazardous waste was lost during the change of landowners, and some due to atmospheric precipitation (when the roofs of storages collapsed). Hazardous waste stored in metal containers could represent an interest for secondary metal use.
During the survey, 21 sites with completely destroyed storages were identified, with no smell, no hazardous waste, and no traces on the soil present on the territory. The absence of traces on the soil could have been obscured by the application of "clean" soil, and soil contamination cannot be ruled out.
The total amount of hazardous waste requiring repackaging and storage is more than 130 cubic meters, in addition to a large amount of contaminated dust/soil/construction debris (the exact amount is currently not established, presumably more than 100 cubic meters).
Even vacant storages have a pronounced smell of chemicals. Among the relatively preserved storages, three points should be noted:
1) In the city of Kant, AO "MIS" (according to the guards, it belongs to A. Zhaparova). The storage is in good condition, although there is a strong smell of pesticides. The territory is guarded, although the storage itself has no locks on the doors. As a result, some pesticides relative to the previous inventory were stolen. The hazardous waste itself is stored in undamaged packaging, allowing the reading of the pesticide names. The waste passport is absent.
2) The storage in the Jany-Jer district, village of Jany-Jer is privately owned. The storage itself is unguarded and in poor condition. During previous inventories, the owner of the storage was promised that the pesticides would be repackaged and removed. As a result, the owner does not feel responsible for storing hazardous waste and demands to clear his storages of hazardous waste, otherwise he will remove and bury the bags with hazardous waste.
3) Located in the Predtechensky district, village of Predtechenka, OJSC "Chekir-Suu". The owners cleared the storages for their own needs and moved 48 bags of pesticides to a new storage (WS-35a). During transportation, "two bags were lost." At the old site, there are remnants of packaging, a sharp smell is present, and there may be remnants in the soil. People live directly through the wall of the former storage. Access to the old storage is free, and children were playing near the storage at the time of the inventory.
To date, despite the abundance of previously implemented projects for the inventory of outdated pesticides, contrary to national legislation:
• there are no laboratory data bases on the composition of waste;
• there are no waste passports;
• regular monitoring of the condition of outdated pesticide waste is not conducted (only within the framework of international projects);
• there is no executive authority responsible for the storage and disposal of waste;
• insufficient laboratory capacity for conducting analyses on outdated pesticides, including POPs;
• there is no information on the composition of outdated pesticides in the supervisory authorities;
• additional research is required on the owners of some storages/land where points with outdated pesticides are located.
• training for employees of local government bodies, supervisory and controlling authorities is necessary;
• it is necessary to tighten responsibility for improper handling of hazardous waste.
Conclusions
In accordance with the Stockholm Convention on POPs (Article 6 (d) (ii)), POPs-containing waste must be destroyed. To find environmentally acceptable methods for the disposal of outdated pesticides, the exact composition of the waste is necessary. To do this, it is necessary to resolve the issue of equipping laboratories, training personnel, and obtaining accreditation in accordance with GOST ISO/IEC 17025-2019.
In addition, it is necessary to continuously monitor the condition of contamination points with outdated pesticides and to repack and place the waste in a temporary storage facility that meets national legislation requirements. Repackaging, construction of a temporary storage facility, and disposal should be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment procedure and obtaining a positive conclusion from the state environmental expertise. For all waste, the owner must present waste passports and obtain permits for the storage of hazardous waste.
The process of storage and disposal of hazardous waste must be under the control of environmental supervisory authorities.
To do this, it is necessary to initiate the process of maximum legalization of the data obtained from the inventory.
Previous inventories did not become the basis for creating a monitoring system for the management of outdated pesticides. As a result, a large volume of uncontrolled hazardous waste has become a threat to the environment, life, and health of the population living near the points of placement of outdated pesticides.
Full report on the inventory of outdated pesticides in the Chuy, Talas, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Batken regions
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