Jalal-Abad Region, Suzak District, Lavdan-Kara Village. Destroyed Warehouse of Obsolete Pesticides

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Coordinates 40.923076, 72.961928



The Jalal-Abad region has been subjected to the greatest anthropogenic impact in the southern areas of the Kyrgyz Republic. Most of the warehouses are destroyed, and the territorial relocation/placement of previously stored hazardous waste is unknown. During the inventory, a large number of contaminated areas of former warehouses with unidentified hazardous waste, contaminated packaging with pesticide seepage into the soil and groundwater were found. More than 11 sites were identified from previous inventories in the Jalal-Abad region, and an additional 8 sites were indicated by territorial representatives of the State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry (SAEPF). In total, 19 sites were surveyed.

The main sites include the burial grounds Suzak-A, Suzak-B, and the burials in Ala-Buka and Zhil-Kol. In 1973, a burial was conducted at Suzak A in the Ak-Chabyr area of the Suzak district of the Jalal-Abad region, where approximately 2000 - 3000 tons of outdated pesticides were buried. The burial site is fenced with barbed wire, but access is free. This work was funded by a small grants program. There is security, but the guardhouse is destroyed. Signs of recent excavations were found.

In the 1970s-1980s, burials were conducted at the Suzak B burial site in the Tash-Baka Kungoy area, near the village of Kyzyl-Bayram, Jalal-Abad region. According to the State Committee for Ecology and Climate (SCEC), approximately 1300 tons of various hazardous waste were buried in total. Currently, the condition of the burial site is satisfactory (fenced, with video cameras near the guardhouse, powered by autonomous electricity using solar panels). No signs of recent excavations were found.

The burials in Ala-Buka did not undergo proper registration. All hazardous waste from the warehouse (the former pesticide warehouse is destroyed) of the Production Association "Agricultural Chemistry" in the Ala-Buka district was buried 200 m south of the warehouse. The area has been leveled with imported soil, and a large area has been prepared for construction. Soil monitoring for pesticides is necessary.

The burial area of Zhil-Kol indicates that there has been extraction of hazardous waste, most of which may already be irretrievably lost. The surface of the site shows signs of old excavations. Nearby, another site with deep pits was found, possibly indicating soil contamination. Surrounding pastures are inhabited by grazing animals. The burial site is located in a small valley. All pesticides from the Uch-Korgon warehouses were brought to this location and buried. According to local residents, the buried stocks were mainly insecticides; cattle were treated with pesticides (presumably DDT).
During the survey, 6 privately owned sites with partially or completely destroyed warehouses were identified. There is no smell, no hazardous waste, and no traces on the soil in the area. 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 owners of the sites do not know the locations of the old volumes of hazardous waste.

At present, the exact quantity of hazardous waste stored in the burial sites that require repackaging and storage has not been established. More than 10 cubic meters of hazardous waste remain at the former warehouses. The approximate amount of contaminated soil is over 60 cubic meters.
It should be noted that the GEF-UNEP project "Demonstration of Non-Thermal Treatment of Waste Containing DDT in Central Asian Countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan)" plans to dispose of waste at the Suzak-A and Suzak-B burial sites. These activities need to be accompanied by the development of project documentation, obtaining a positive conclusion from the state ecological expertise on the disposal technology, feasibility study (FS), environmental impact assessment (EIA), as well as monitoring possible emissions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) into the environment throughout the disposal process.

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;
• insufficient laboratory capacity to conduct analyses on outdated pesticides, including POPs;
• information on the composition of outdated pesticides is lacking in the supervisory authorities;
• additional research is required on the owners of some warehouses/land where points with outdated pesticides are located;
• training of local government employees, supervisory and controlling authorities is necessary;
• responsibility for improper handling of hazardous waste needs to be tightened.

Conclusions
According to 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 necessary 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 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 storage and disposal 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.
Past 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 the Chui, Talas, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Batken regions