Aylampa-Sai Gorge. Industrial Waste Disposal Site of MSELZ
Industrial waste dumps are always one of the adverse factors affecting the health of the local population. The MSELZ waste dump in Mailuu-Suu consists of mountains of broken glass and soil mixed with metal parts from defective light bulbs. The glass dump is a rather apocalyptic sight: a giant mound of wet glass towers among the stunted mountain shrubs.
Just ten years ago, thousands of residents of Mailuu-Suu were extracting non-ferrous metals (nickel) from it. The "gold vein" in the glass dump was discovered in the late nineties. It turns out that part of the leg that supports the tungsten filament is made of pure nickel. Immediately, there were buyers for the expensive metal: a kilogram cost about 850 soms.
Every day, up to 4,000 people would go to the dump, coming from all over the country. In a month, one could earn 20,000 soms, while at the same Mailuu-Suu lamp factory, the average earnings were about 7,000. Citizens with an entrepreneurial spirit quickly built shops and a cafeteria there, locals say. Some managed to earn millions at the dump.
However, no safety measures were observed: people died under the piles of glass. According to observers, at least 24 people lost their lives there. Several thousand others faced the threat of disability. After a day of work in the scorching sun, all the diggers experienced shortness of breath. Employees of the Institute of Medical Problems examined more than two hundred scavengers. All of them were found to have serious bronchial and lung diseases. They constantly breathed in dust, which contained mutated E. coli and a host of other microbes. Additionally, glass dust settled in their lungs, which is practically impossible to expel from the body. Today, Mailuu-Suu pays for its "industrial past" with the illnesses of its residents. Locals report that they suffer from cancer, diabetes, and leukemia.
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