Aviation Site in the Village of Petropavlovka: Destroyed Warehouse of Obsolete Pesticides
Jaiyl District, Ak-Bashat Ayil District. Airfield in the village of Petropavlovka. Destroyed storage facility for outdated pesticides.
The storage facility is completely destroyed, there is no smell, no hazardous waste, no traces on the soil.
The greatest anthropogenic impact in the northern part of the republic has been observed in the Chui region. Most storage facilities are destroyed, and the territorial relocation/storage of previously stored hazardous waste is unknown. During the inventory, a large number of contaminated areas of former storage facilities with unidentified hazardous waste were discovered, along with contaminated packaging leaking into the soil, possibly into groundwater.
In total, more than 96 sites were identified in the Chui region from previous inventories, of which the location of 45 sites could not be established (these sites had previously been noted as completely destroyed, with no smell, no hazardous waste, and no mentions of soil contamination). These sites may be potentially dangerous, as soil contamination could be significant in some areas.
More than 51 sites were surveyed in the Chui region, and many sites from past 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 structure reform - GCEC) and the Ministry of Agriculture. Locations of old storage facilities were established using old photographs and Google Earth Pro. Most storage facilities have a smaller quantity of pesticides compared to past data. Some hazardous waste was lost during ownership changes, and some due to atmospheric precipitation (when the roofs of the storage facilities collapsed). Hazardous waste stored in metal containers could represent a secondary metal use interest.
During the survey, 21 sites with completely destroyed storage facilities were identified, with no smell, no hazardous waste, and no traces on the soil. 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 over 130 cubic meters, in addition to a large amount of contaminated dust/soil/construction debris (the exact amount is currently undetermined, presumably over 100 cubic meters).
Even vacant storage facilities have a pronounced smell of chemicals. Among the relatively preserved storage facilities, three points should be noted:
1) In the city of Kant, AO "MIS" (according to the guards, it belongs to A. Zhaparova). The storage facility is in good condition, although there is a strong smell of pesticides. The area is guarded, although the storage facility itself has no locks on the doors. As a result, some pesticides were stolen compared to the previous inventory. The hazardous waste is stored in undamaged packaging, allowing the names of the pesticides to be read. The waste passport is missing.
2) The storage facility in the Zhana-Jer district, village of Zhana-Jer, is privately owned. The storage facility is unguarded and in poor condition. In previous inventories, the owner 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 storage facilities of hazardous waste, otherwise, he will remove and bury the bags of hazardous waste.
3) Located in the Predtechensky district, village of Predtechenka, OJSC "Chekir-Suu". The owners have cleared the storage facilities for their own needs and moved 48 bags of pesticides to a new storage facility (WS-35a). During transportation, "two bags were lost." At the old site, there are remnants of packaging, a sharp smell is present, and residues may be in the soil. People live directly through the wall of the former storage facility. Access to the old storage facility is free, and children were playing near the storage facility during 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;
• Waste passports are absent;
• Regular monitoring of the state 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;
• Laboratories have insufficient capacity to conduct 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 storage facilities/land where points with outdated pesticides are located.
• Training for local government employees, supervisory and control 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)), waste containing POPs must be destroyed. To find environmentally acceptable methods for the disposal of outdated pesticides, the exact composition of the waste is necessary. To achieve this, it is essential to address 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 pollution points with outdated pesticides and to repack and place waste in a temporary storage facility that meets the requirements of national legislation. Repackaging, construction of a temporary storage facility, and disposal must be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment procedure and obtaining a positive conclusion from the state ecological expertise. For all waste, the owner must present waste passports and obtain permits for the storage of hazardous waste.
The process of storing and disposing of hazardous waste must be under the control of environmental supervisory authorities.
To this end, it is necessary to initiate the process of maximum legalization of the data obtained from the inventory.
Previous inventories did not serve as a 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 Chui, Talas, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Batken regions
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