Naryn Region, Kochkor District, Tendid Village, Burial Sites of Obsolete Pesticides
Nine burial sites with hazardous waste (from the Soviet era). Size: 80 hundredths of a hectare. Burial sites: 80x9 burial sites with 30 tons in each burial site. Somewhere there are bags with DDT, somewhere barrels of "bi58" liquid insecticides. When it rains, there is an unbearable smell and a small runoff. After heavy rain, there can be mudflows that reach the Kochkorka canal.
In the Naryn region, four sites were identified from previous inventories, and one additional site was indicated by territorial representatives of the State Inspectorate for Environmental and Technical Safety (Burial sites in the Kochkor district). One site had incorrect coordinates, located in a mountainous area without access for vehicles. In total, five sites were surveyed. The road to the burial sites in the Kochkor district is absent, but it is possible to drive an all-terrain vehicle almost to the burial site. The remaining 1.5 kilometers had to be walked.
At the site of the former Raiselekhim in 4 km from the city of Naryn, 250 m from the settlement and 300 m from the Naryn River, there are 6 warehouses. Of these, one warehouse contains remnants of hazardous waste. The roof of the warehouse is permeable, and the doors cannot be locked. The warehouse is partially destroyed, and the packaging of hazardous waste is completely ruined. The area is fenced.
The former collective farm pesticide warehouse in the village of Tendik is completely destroyed, no traces of hazardous waste were found, but there is a sharp smell, possibly indicating soil contamination. In the previous inventory, it was noted that "there is neither smell nor traces in the soil."
At the At-Bashinsky anti-plague station, there are two containers with outdated pesticides (DDT) and contaminated soil. Unlike the warehouse in Balakchy, the warehouses are not sealed but are locked. The warehouse with contaminated soil also stores pesticides currently used for rodent control (carriers of the plague). Thus, the warehouse with contaminated DDT soil is accessible to personnel, and the pesticides used are stored in the same room as the DDT waste. There is a sharp smell on the site, presumably indicating soil contamination at the repackaging site.
The waste passport is absent. Employees of the anti-plague station do not consider DDT as waste and foresee the possibility of its use in case of a malaria epidemic or for sale. It is also necessary to seal the warehouses to exclude access to hazardous waste by personnel, develop a waste passport, conduct explanatory work, and provide safety training.
The total amount of hazardous waste (not including the burial site) requiring repackaging and storage is more than 3 cubic meters, in addition to a large amount of contaminated dust/soil/construction debris (currently, the exact amount is not established, presumably more than 30 cubic meters).
In Oroo-Bashy, Kochkor district, 9 burial sites with DDT were discovered. The burial took place in the 1970s. According to various sources, the burial occurred in 1973 and 1978. Also, according to various data, the burial sites contain from 270 to 800 tons of DDT on 0.8 hectares.
In 2019, a local resident contacted the territorial administration of the inspection for environmental and technical safety regarding the excavation of the DDT burial site by local residents. An order was issued to the ayil-okmotu to fill the pit. This work was carried out (photos attached), but during the inventory, fresh excavations were found again. Some bags with DDT were damaged, and some were removed. Thus, there is uncontrolled use of hazardous waste (DDT), which in turn increases the risk to health and the environment. According to local residents, the smell is especially noticeable after rains when the pesticides washed away by temporary streams enter the canal from which residents of nearby villages take irrigation water. To prevent further theft of DDT, it is urgently necessary to repack DDT and contaminated soil. Ensure proper security until these hazardous wastes can be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. The repackaging should be accompanied by a Risk Management Plan, the development of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), obtaining a positive conclusion from the state ecological expertise, and developing a waste passport, as well as conducting explanatory work with local government employees and the territorial division of the State Inspectorate for Environmental and Technical Safety.
Various data on the amount of buried DDT and the time of burial also require detailed study of archival data. It is necessary to ensure that the same site is being described and not two completely different burials in one area.
To date, despite the abundance of previous 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;
• Laboratories have insufficient capacity to conduct analyses on outdated pesticides, including POPs;
• There is no information on the composition of outdated pesticides in the inspecting authorities;
• Additional research is required on the owners of some warehouses/land where points with outdated pesticides are located;
• Training for employees of local government, inspecting, 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 destruction of outdated pesticides, the exact composition of the waste is necessary. For 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 points contaminated 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 the EIA 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 inspection 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 (OP) in Chui, Talas, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Batken regions
Discuss?
