Publication Name

Environment and Security

Ferghana

Osh

Khujand

September 2004 the Tajik authorities acknowledged that

the Kanibadam deposit was a risk for regional security.

In Uzbekistan, the

Bekabad metallurgy plant, industrial

activity in the city of Ferghana and the Almalyk metallurgy

plant

have been identified among key problem activities.

In particular Tajikistan considers the Bekabad and Alma-

lyk plants to be a transboundary problem. But in practice

Tajikistan prefers not to overplay its hand with respect to

this plant for fear of laying itself open to criticism by the

Uzbek authorities regarding the pollution caused by the

Tajikistan Aluminium smelter in Tursunzade.

Turning our attention to oil and gas operations, soil con-

tamination has been observed near oil facilities, notably the

Mingbulak oil field in Uzbekistan, the production plants in

Andijan and Ferghana cities in Uzbekistan, and at the oil

refinery in Jalal-Abad.

Even though past spills and accidents have created tensions

between the countries of the region

, officials do not consist-

ently regard environmental pollution by existing facilities as a

security problem.

Only in a very fewcases has industrial activity

become a security issue

. The fact that the activities giving rise

to environmental concern are often essential to the economy

too – as with regions such as Batken – certainly contributes to

the cautious approach to industrial pollution and associated

issues generally adopted by the various countries.

ENVSEC CASE STUDY

Risk of transboundary pollution from Kadamjai Industrial Area, Kyrgyzstan

The Kadamjai antimony plant in Southern Kyrgyzstan stands

close to the Uzbek border and very near the town of the

same name. Antimony production started here in the 1940s

using local ore deposits. The plant annually consumes

200,000 tonnes of ore. In 2000-3, the annual production

of antimony was 1,500-2,500 tonnes a year. With gradual

depletion of the antimony content of local ore, rawmaterials

are now purchased from Russia and Tajikistan.

Ore waste dumps are exposed to erosion – by rain and wind

– resulting in contamination of soil and water resources by

pollutants. Worse still an earthquake could cause a dam to

collapse. Hydrometallurgy process tails are collected in a se-

ries of tailing ponds four to seven kmaway from the plant. The

seven tailings account for a total area of 56,000 sq metres.

Tailing ponds have protective coverage at the bottom and

sides, but several of them are leaking due to cracks in the

bottom lining and inadequate maintenance. Leaks of aggres-

sive substances affect and endanger soil andwater resources

and pose a high risk of contamination (sulphuric acid, sodium

sulphide, sodium carbonate, arsenic, antimony, lead, copper,

manganese, iron) for the environment and local people.

Particle emission is another problem. According to infor-

mation provided by the plant’s management, a significant

proportion of the Kadamjai population is exposed to air-

borne pollution (wind blown substances fromwaste tailings

and industrial emissions).

The industry has plans for site rehabilitation and reconstruc-

tion (new protective coverage, consolidation of dams, new

drainage systems), but no funding has so far been forth-

coming to implement environmental mitigation plans.

Source: ENVSEC field visits – Industrial Facilities and Hazardous Waste TrackTrack

��

�

��

�

��