Kyzyl-Suu. Destroyed Storage Facilities and Pesticide Warehouses
Accessibility: The last 3 km is a dirt road.
This site is a former runway for aircraft that sprayed pesticides and fertilizers on crops. The runway is located in an agricultural region and was purchased by the current owner three years ago. The runway was closed due to economic reasons following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 and had a storage building for pesticides and a mixing area for pesticide solutions.
The runway is now used as agricultural land. The storage building is partially destroyed, and the bricks have been sold. Outdated pesticides are scattered across the floor, and the packaging has completely rotted. The roof of the building is still intact but has also been sold. It will be dismantled and removed next spring. This means that after the roof is removed, the remnants of outdated pesticides will be left exposed to the elements.
It has also been reported that people emptied containers filled with pesticides both inside and outside the storage facility. Metal containers were taken for scrap.
Outdated pesticides are scattered across the floor. They have partially filled the mixing pool with pesticide solutions and substances from the storage. A guard and his family, along with their livestock, live near the storage and the pool. A 20x20 meter area immediately behind the storage and near the house is half-filled with outdated pesticides that were taken out of the storage itself.
Quantities stored:
• 40 m³ of outdated pesticides with contaminated soil and masonry from the compartment
• 80 m³ of outdated pesticides, contaminated soil, and masonry on the floor of the building
Potential risks: Environment.
The storage is in very poor condition: there are no walls, and the roof will be removed next spring. Rain, snow, and wind can freely enter the building. There is a spread of outdated pesticides into the environment.
The mixing pool is partially filled with outdated pesticides. Rain, snow, and wind can also freely enter it. There is a spread of outdated pesticides into the environment. It is likely that the soil and groundwater are already contaminated due to the emptying of containers on the surface soil and aircraft spraying pesticide solutions on crops in the past.
Cattle can freely enter the storage and graze around the building. Outdated pesticides enter the food chain through cattle.
People (children) working and playing near or on this site will inhale dust contaminated with outdated pesticides. People also collect, mix, and dry manure with straw (a traditional way to prepare heating material) to heat their homes in winter. They dry this fuel on the foundation of the pool. The mixture of cow manure and straw may be contaminated with pesticides. Burning pesticides produces dioxins. It is possible that people are exposed to dioxins during the winter months.
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