Jalal-Abad Region, Suzak District, Mazar-Bulak Village Destroyed Warehouse of Obsolete Pesticides

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Coordinates: 41.115316, 73.259623



The greatest anthropogenic impact in the southern regions of the Kyrgyz Republic has affected the Jalal-Abad region. Most warehouses are destroyed, and the territorial movement/storage of previously stored pesticides is unknown. During the inventory, a large number of contaminated areas of former warehouses with unidentified pesticides were discovered, along with contaminated packaging leaking pesticides into the soil and groundwater. More than 11 sites were identified from past 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 of the Kyrgyz Republic. A total of 19 sites were surveyed.

The main sites are the burial grounds Suzakh-A, Suzakh-B, and burials in Ala-Buka and Zhil-Kol. In 1973, burial at Suzakh A took place in the Ak-Chabyr area of the Suzakh district of the Jalal-Abad region, where approximately 2000 - 3000 tons of outdated pesticides were buried.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 carried out under a small grants program. There is security present, but the guardhouse is destroyed. Signs of recent excavations were found.

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

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

The burial site of Zhil-Kol indicates that there has been extraction of pesticides, and most of them may already be irretrievably lost. The surface of the site shows signs of old excavations. Nearby, another location with deep pits was found, possibly indicating soil contamination. Pastures where animals graze are located around the site. The burial site is situated 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 sites in private ownership with partially or completely destroyed warehouses were identified. There is no smell, no pesticides, or traces on the soil in the area. The absence of traces on the soil could be due to 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 pesticides.

At present, the exact quantity of pesticides stored in the burial sites that require repackaging and storage has not been established. More than 10 cubic meters of pesticides 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 Suzakh-A and Suzakh-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 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;
• there are no Waste Passports;
• 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 of outdated pesticides, including POPs;
• information on the composition of outdated pesticides is lacking in the regulatory authorities;
• further research is required on the owners of some warehouses/land where points with outdated pesticides are located;
• training for local government officials, supervisory and regulatory bodies is necessary;
• it is essential 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. 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 state of contamination points with outdated pesticides and to repack and place waste in a temporary storage facility that meets national legislation requirements. Repackaging, construction of a temporary storage facility, and disposal must be accompanied by an EIA procedure and obtaining a positive conclusion from the state ecological expertise. All waste must have Waste Passports presented by the owner, and permits for the storage of hazardous waste must be obtained.

The process of storage and disposal 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.
Past inventories have not become the basis for creating a monitoring system for the handling 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