Issyk-Kul Region, Aksuysky District, Teploklyuchenka Village, Destroyed Warehouse of Outdated Pesticides
Warehouse of the former Raisselhozkhimia. The warehouse is completely destroyed. It is privately owned and guarded. There is a possibility of unauthorized access. It is located in close proximity to a settlement and a river. People complain about the smell of obsolete pesticides (UP), and there are UP in damaged packaging. Unknown mixed UP in a volume of 9 cubic meters.
In total, 9 sites were identified in the Issyk-Kul region from previous inventories, three of which had incorrect coordinates (located in the depths of Lake Issyk-Kul, in mountainous areas without access, and among agricultural fields (without visible outlines of buildings).
A total of 6 sites were surveyed; at a site in the city of Balykchy, there are repackaged UP stored in 7 containers with tightly closed doors (there are locking welds on the doors). The containers are exposed to external factors (precipitation, freezing), which in turn leads to the oxidation of the metal walls and roofs of the containers. Waste passports are available (Appendix 6). There is a sharp smell clearly present on the territory and in the empty destroyed warehouse. A pile of construction debris with a distinct smell of UP was also found. Some buildings where pesticides were previously stored have been dismantled since the last inventory.
The site in the settlement of Cheleken has been completely transformed and built up with new households (no UP found, smell absent). According to local residents, there is a plot behind the garden farm where nothing grows. At the time of the inventory, the fields were flooded with water, and it was not possible to visit the site for soil sampling.
At the site in the settlement of Kyzyl-Suu, there is a completely destroyed warehouse, a sharp smell is present, and a large amount of polyethylene packaging from nitrate is found.
The other warehouses have a smaller amount of pesticides compared to previous data. Some UP was lost during the change of ownership of the plots, and some due to atmospheric precipitation (due to the destruction of warehouse roofs); UP stored in metal containers could represent an interest for secondary metal use.
The total amount of UP requiring repackaging and storage is more than 15 cubic meters. In addition, there is a large amount of contaminated dust/soil/construction debris (the exact amount is currently undetermined, presumably more than 40 cubic meters).
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 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;
• inadequate laboratory capacity for conducting analyses on outdated pesticides, including POPs;
• information on the composition of outdated pesticides is absent in the supervisory authorities;
• additional research is required on the owners of some warehouses/land where points with outdated pesticides are located;
• training for local government employees, 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)), waste containing POPs must be destroyed. To find environmentally acceptable methods for the disposal of outdated pesticides, an accurate 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 warehouse that meets national legislation requirements. Repackaging, construction of a temporary storage warehouse, and disposal must be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure and obtaining a positive conclusion from the state ecological expertise. For all waste, the owner must provide waste passports and obtain permits for the storage of hazardous waste.
The process of storing and disposing of hazardous waste must be conducted under the supervision of environmental regulatory 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 sites of outdated pesticides.
Full report on the inventory of outdated pesticides (UP) in Chuy, Talas, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Batken regions
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