The remote town of Mailuu Suu in South Kyrgyzstan is known for a Soviet legacy that still haunts the local population of more than 22,000. Residents of Mailuu Suu commonly say that the very first Soviet atomic bomb was made out of locally extracted uranium in the late 1940s. The township is surrounded by uranium tailings and radioactive dumps that have been of greatest concern to the country’s neighbor, Uzbekistan, for decades.
The gravest dilemma for the Kyrgyz government is related to the frequent landslides in the areas along the river of Mailuu Suu where the Soviet government kept radioactive waste from the uranium mining. The glaciers of the southern Tian Shan feed this river, which flows directly to the neighboring republic of Uzbekistan in the Ferghana Valley.
Previously, an accident in April 1958 at the uranium tailing 7 led to the discharge of “600,000 cubic meters [of radioactive material] into the river” according to an OSCE report in 2005. The demise of the Soviet Union and poor maintenance of the uranium tailings since the 1990s has raised concerns in the region and abroad, ultimately bringing the World Bank’s attention to the challenging task of remediation in Mailuu Suu.
The World Bank has invested $11.76 million into the “Disaster Hazard Mitigation” project in Mailuu Suu, which was launched in 2004 and completed in 2012. The World Bank’s objective has been focused on minimizing “the exposure of humans, livestock, and fluvial flora and fauna to radionuclide’s associated with abandoned uranium mine tailings and waste rock dumps in the Mailuu-Suu area; and improvement of the effectiveness of emergency management and response by national and sub-national authorities and local communities to disaster situations.”
However, locals who are weary of impact from the uranium legacy believe health issues and birth anomalies persist in the area. “[There are] big problems in this town,” said Minabar Umarova, chair of the Women’s Committee of Mailuu Suu. “Our analysis in 2014 of health among local women and children in Mailuu Suu revealed that our town of 24,000 had 180 children [younger than 18] with disabilities. At the same time, the neighboring district of Suzak with more than 240,000 residents had only 165 disabled children. So, Suzak district, with the population ten times larger than Mailuu Suu, has less children with disabilities.”
Indeed, an “effect of radiation and radionuclides on public health in Mailuu Suu has reflected on higher rates of birth anomalies — 5.12 percent; miscarriages — 12.1 percent; stillbirth rate — 1.25 percent” than anywhere else in the country, according to research by the Institute of Medical Problems of the National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyz Republic. The Institute’s previous field monitoring and observation in 2007 found the presence of radioactive uranium and thorium in women’s placentas in Mailuu Suu and surrounding villages.
Respectively, in the village of Sary Bae, background gamma radiation was recorded within 40 – 640 mR/h [milliroentgens per hour] whereas in the neighboring city of Jalal Abad background radiation is 21 mR/h, according to official data. Sampling of the 15 local women’s placentas has shown the presence of uranium in the amount of 0.33 mg/kg ± 0.2; and thorium in the amount of 0.25 mg/kg ± 0.1. Uranium and thorium in women’s placenta was a cause for complications during pregnancy in 80 percent of the cases among observed women of Mailuu Suu.
The Institute for Medical Studies’ research has concluded that snow melt and flash floods trigger frequent mudslides during the spring season in Mailuu Suu that in effect carry radionuclides from dumps and tailings to the local river. This finding was confirmed by the Switzerland-based Spiez Laboratory that conducted a field study in Mailuu Suu last year. Swiss scientists also found “extremely high levels of uranium in drainage water from the tailings.”
The threat of radioactive contamination in Mailuu Suu and in downstream areas of the Fergana Valley has been actively discussed in the European Union. The EU was analyzing impact assessments while conducting feasibility studies in Kyrgyzstan. Last year, the European Commission initiated the creation of the “Environmental Remediation Account, a vehicle to channel international efforts toward finding long-lasting solutions to the severe environmental problems related to former uranium mining and milling activities” in Central Asia. The EU has contributed €16.5 million to the fund, which is managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and already had its first assembly in July this year in London.
Vince Novak, EBRD director for nuclear safety, highlighted the significance of the remediation program in Central Asia and said it is a “very important new initiative by the EC and the EBRD as it addresses one of the less-well known yet urgent remaining challenges from Soviet nuclear operations. However, the success of our new fund will depend on the commitment of partner countries and support from donors.”
Rakhman Toichuyev, director of the Institute for Medical Problems, said that in order to be effective, the EU-funded remediation project in Mailuu Suu could start with improvement of the township’s water supply infrastructure, which is one of the main concerns in Mailuu Suu and surrounding villages. Because of the difficulties with water supply, residents of the village of Kok Tash below Mailuu Suu use contaminated water from the river.
Mji wa Ma'an-Souh, kusini mwa Kyrgyzstan, unajulikana kwa urithi wa Sovieti ambao bado unawatesa wakazi wa eneo hilo zaidi ya 22,000. Wakazi wa mji wa Ma'an-Sou wanasema kwamba bomu la kwanza la nyuklia la Sovieti lilitengenezwa kwa uranium iliyotengenezwa huko mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1940. Mji huo umezungukwa na mabaki ya uranium na mabaki ya nyuklia ambayo yamekuwa ya wasiwasi mkubwa kwa jirani ya nchi hiyo, Uzbekistan, kwa miongo kadhaa. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""mashambulizi ya ardhi"" ni sehemu ya ""mashambulizi ya ardhi"" ya kawaida katika maeneo ya mto Mailu-Suu, ambapo serikali ya Sovieti ilihifadhi taka za mnururisho kutoka kwa uchimbaji wa urani." Mto huo unatiririka moja kwa moja hadi jamhuri jirani ya Uzbekistan katika Bonde la Ferghana. Mwaka 1958 mlipuko wa uranium uliathiri sana maji ya mto huo, na mlipuko huo ulisababisha kutokwa kwa maji ya mto huo kwa kiasi cha mita 600,000. Kuanguka kwa Muungano wa Sovieti na udhibiti mbaya wa mabaki ya urani tangu miaka ya 1990 kumesababisha wasiwasi katika eneo hilo na nje ya nchi, na hatimaye kuleta umakini wa Benki ya Dunia kwa kazi ngumu ya kurekebisha katika Maalu Su. Benki ya Dunia imewekeza dola milioni 11.76 katika mradi wa kupunguza hatari za majanga huko Ma'an-Sou, ambao ulianzishwa mwaka 2004 na kukamilika mwaka 2012. Lengo la Benki ya Dunia limekuwa likielekezwa kwenye kupunguza "kufunikwa kwa wanadamu, mifugo, na mimea na wanyama wa mto kwa radionuclides" zinazohusiana na mabaki ya mgodi wa uranium iliyokatwa na kutupwa kwa taka za mwamba katika eneo la Maitland; na kuboresha ufanisi wa usimamizi wa dharura na majibu ya mamlaka ya kitaifa na chini ya kitaifa na jamii za mitaa kwa hali za maafa. "Kuna matatizo makubwa katika mji huu", alisema Minabar Umarova, mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Wanawake ya Mailuu Suu. "Uchunguzi wetu wa afya ya wanawake na watoto wa eneo hilo katika mji wa Ma'aluu-Sou ulifunua kwamba mji wetu wenye wakazi 24,000 ulikuwa na watoto 180 [wa chini ya miaka 18] wenye ulemavu.""" Kwa upande mwingine, katika wilaya ya Suzak, ambayo ina wakazi zaidi ya 240,000, kuna watoto 165 tu waliolemazwa. Kwa mfano, wilaya ya Suzak, ambayo ina idadi ya watu mara kumi ya idadi ya watu wa Ma'an-Suu, ina watoto wachache wenye ulemavu. <unk> Kwa kweli, <unk> athari ya mionzi na radionuclides kwenye afya ya umma katika Ma'an-Suu imethibitisha viwango vya juu vya kuzaliwa <unk> 5.12%; mimba <unk> 12.1%; kiwango cha kuzaliwa kwa vifo <unk> 1.25% <unk> kuliko mahali pengine popote nchini, kulingana na utafiti wa Taasisi ya Matatizo ya Kitaifa ya Sayansi ya Jamhuri ya Kyrgyzstan. Utafiti wa mwaka 2007 uligundua uranium na thorium katika placenta za wanawake wa Ma'an-ul-Sou. Katika kijiji cha Sary Bae, mionzi ya nyuma ya gamma ilirekodiwa ndani ya 40 ~ 640 mRh (millirrents kwa saa), wakati katika mji jirani wa Jalalabad, mionzi ya nyuma ni 21 mRh (mionzi ya nyuma ya saa). Mfano wa placenta ya wanawake 15 wa eneo hilo ulionyesha uranium katika kiasi cha 0.33 mg kwa kilo na thorium katika kiasi cha 0.25 mg kwa kilo. Uraini na thorium katika placenta ya wanawake ilikuwa sababu ya matatizo wakati wa ujauzito katika asilimia 80 ya visa kati ya wanawake waliochunguzwa wa Mailoo. Utafiti wa Taasisi ya Mafunzo ya Matibabu umegundua kuwa kuyeyuka kwa theluji na mafuriko ya ghafla husababisha maporomoko ya matope mara kwa mara wakati wa msimu wa masika huko Ma'aluu Suu ambayo kwa kweli hubeba radionuclides kutoka kwa matope na tailings hadi mto wa eneo hilo. Utafiti huo ulithibitishwa na maabara ya Spiez nchini Uswisi, ambayo ilifanya utafiti wa shambani huko Maalu Su mwaka jana. Wanasayansi wa Uswisi pia walipata viwango vya juu sana vya urani katika maji ya mifereji kutoka kwa tailings. Tisho la uchafuzi wa mnururisho katika Mailuu Suu na katika maeneo ya chini ya bonde la Fergana limezungumziwa kikamilifu katika Umoja wa Ulaya. Umoja wa Ulaya umekuwa ukifanya uchunguzi wa athari za hatua za nchi hiyo nchini Kyrgyzstan. Tume ya Ulaya ilianzisha mwaka jana kuanzishwa kwa akaunti ya urekebishaji wa mazingira, chombo cha kuelekeza juhudi za kimataifa kuelekea kutafuta suluhisho la muda mrefu kwa matatizo makubwa ya mazingira yanayohusiana na shughuli za zamani za uchimbaji na kusaga urani katika Asia ya Kati. EU imetoa € 16.5m kwa mfuko huo, ambao unasimamiwa na Benki ya Ulaya ya Ujenzi na Maendeleo na tayari ulikuwa na mkutano wake wa kwanza Julai mwaka huu huko London. "Vince Novak, mkurugenzi wa EBRD kwa usalama wa nyuklia, alisisitiza umuhimu wa mpango wa kurekebisha katika Asia ya Kati na alisema ni ""kichocheo kipya muhimu sana cha EU na EBRD kwani inashughulikia moja ya changamoto zisizojulikana lakini za haraka zilizobaki kutoka kwa shughuli za nyuklia za Sovieti.""" "Rakhman Toychukov, mkurugenzi wa Taasisi ya Matatizo ya Matibabu, alisema kuwa ili kuwa na ufanisi, mradi wa ukarabati unaofadhiliwa na EU huko Mailu Su unaweza kuanza na kuboresha miundombinu ya usambazaji wa maji ya mji, ambayo ni moja ya wasiwasi kuu katika Mailu Su na vijiji vinavyozunguka. """ Kwa sababu ya matatizo ya usambazaji wa maji, wakazi wa kijiji cha Kok Tash chini ya Mailuu Suu hutumia maji machafu kutoka mto.