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Coordinates: 41°15′36″N 72°26′59″E / 41.26000°N 72.44972°E / 41.26000; 72.44972
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==Uranium mills==
==Uranium mills==
The USSR left 23 unstable [[uranium]] [[tailings]] pits on the [[tectonic]]ally unstable hillside above the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/projects/display/129 |title=Uranium in OshKyrgyzstan &#124; Mailuu-Suu Legacy Uranium Dumps |publisher=Blacksmithinstitute.org |date= |accessdate=2014-01-30}}</ref> A landslide in 1958 released 6,000 {{convert|6000|m3|USgal}}.<ref>[http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ncs/environmentalmemoirs/memoirs/kyrgyzstan.htm ]{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref> In 1994, a landslide blocked the Mailuu-Suu River, damaging a waste reservoir, and a flood caused by a mudslide nearly submerged a tailings pit in 2002.<ref name=osce/> Mailuu-Suu was found to be one of the 10 most polluted sites in the world in a study published in 2006 by the [[Blacksmith Institute]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/site10g.php |title=Missing Controller |publisher=Blacksmith Institute |date= |accessdate=2014-01-30}}</ref> The [[World Bank]] approved a $5 million grant to reclaim the tailings pits in 2004,<ref name=osce>{{cite web|author=Sarah MacGregor |url=http://www.osce.org/bishkek/57474 |title=Finding a solution for uranium waste in Kyrgyzstan - OSCE Centre in Bishkek |publisher=Osce.org |date=2004-02-04 |accessdate=2014-01-30}}</ref> and approved an additional $1 million grant for the project in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22936608~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html |title=News & Broadcast - 28, 000 Inhabitants of Mailuu-Suu Valey in the Kyrgyz Republic to Benefit from Improved and Safer Access on the Road to Villages |publisher=Web.worldbank.org |date=2011-06-09 |accessdate=2014-01-30}}</ref> However, grave threats still persist.<ref>{{cite news|title=Uranium in Central Asia: Poisoned legacy|url=http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21657431-vast-region-suffers-soviet-unions-radioactive-hangover-poisoned-legacy|accessdate=10 July 2015|work=[[The Economist]]}}</ref>
The USSR left 23 unstable [[uranium]] [[tailings]] pits on the [[tectonic]]ally unstable hillside above the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/projects/display/129 |title=Uranium in OshKyrgyzstan &#124; Mailuu-Suu Legacy Uranium Dumps |publisher=Blacksmithinstitute.org |date= |accessdate=2014-01-30}}</ref> A landslide in 1958 released 6,000 {{convert|6000|m3|USgal}}.<ref>[http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ncs/environmentalmemoirs/memoirs/kyrgyzstan.htm ]{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref> In 1994, a landslide blocked the Mailuu-Suu River, damaging a waste reservoir, and a flood caused by a mudslide nearly submerged a tailings pit in 2002.<ref name=osce/> Mailuu-Suu was found to be one of the 10 most polluted sites in the world in a study published in 2006 by the [[Blacksmith Institute]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/site10g.php |title=Missing Controller |publisher=Blacksmith Institute |date= |accessdate=2014-01-30}}</ref> The [[World Bank]] approved a [[US$]]5 million grant to reclaim the tailings pits in 2004,<ref name=osce>{{cite web|author=Sarah MacGregor |url=http://www.osce.org/bishkek/57474 |title=Finding a solution for uranium waste in Kyrgyzstan - OSCE Centre in Bishkek |publisher=Osce.org |date=2004-02-04 |accessdate=2014-01-30}}</ref> and approved an additional $1 million grant for the project in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22936608~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html |title=News & Broadcast - 28, 000 Inhabitants of Mailuu-Suu Valey in the Kyrgyz Republic to Benefit from Improved and Safer Access on the Road to Villages |publisher=Web.worldbank.org |date=2011-06-09 |accessdate=2014-01-30}}</ref> However, grave threats still persist.<ref>{{cite news|title=Uranium in Central Asia: Poisoned legacy|url=http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21657431-vast-region-suffers-soviet-unions-radioactive-hangover-poisoned-legacy|accessdate=10 July 2015|work=[[The Economist]]}}</ref>


{{coord|41|15|36|N|72|26|59|E|region:KG_type:city|display=title}}
{{coord|41|15|36|N|72|26|59|E|region:KG_type:city|display=title}}

Revision as of 21:56, 22 July 2015

Mailuu-Suu
Майлуусуу
Country Kyrgyzstan
ProvinceJalal-Abad Province
Population
 (2009)
 • Total16,953

Mailuusuu (Kyrgyz: Майлуусуу) is a mining town in Jalal-Abad Province of southern Kyrgyzstan that has been economically depressed since the fall of the Soviet Union. From 1946 to 1968 the Zapadnyi Mining and Chemical Combine in Mailuu-Suu mined and processed more than 10,000 short tons (9,100 t) of uranium ore for the Soviet nuclear program.[1] Uranium mining and processing is no longer economical, leaving much of the local population of about 20,000 without meaningful work.[2]

Uranium mills

The USSR left 23 unstable uranium tailings pits on the tectonically unstable hillside above the town.[3] A landslide in 1958 released 6,000 6,000 cubic metres (1,600,000 US gal).[4] In 1994, a landslide blocked the Mailuu-Suu River, damaging a waste reservoir, and a flood caused by a mudslide nearly submerged a tailings pit in 2002.[5] Mailuu-Suu was found to be one of the 10 most polluted sites in the world in a study published in 2006 by the Blacksmith Institute.[6] The World Bank approved a US$5 million grant to reclaim the tailings pits in 2004,[5] and approved an additional $1 million grant for the project in 2011.[7] However, grave threats still persist.[8]

41°15′36″N 72°26′59″E / 41.26000°N 72.44972°E / 41.26000; 72.44972

References

  1. ^ Djenchuraev, N. Current environmental issues associated with mining wastes in Kyrgyzstan. Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of Central European University, Budapest, 1999.
  2. ^ Trilling, David (May 26, 2009), "Kyrgyzstan: Radioactive Legacy Vexes Bishkek", EurasiaNet
  3. ^ "Uranium in OshKyrgyzstan | Mailuu-Suu Legacy Uranium Dumps". Blacksmithinstitute.org. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  4. ^ [1][dead link]
  5. ^ a b Sarah MacGregor (2004-02-04). "Finding a solution for uranium waste in Kyrgyzstan - OSCE Centre in Bishkek". Osce.org. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  6. ^ "Missing Controller". Blacksmith Institute. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  7. ^ "News & Broadcast - 28, 000 Inhabitants of Mailuu-Suu Valey in the Kyrgyz Republic to Benefit from Improved and Safer Access on the Road to Villages". Web.worldbank.org. 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  8. ^ "Uranium in Central Asia: Poisoned legacy". The Economist. Retrieved 10 July 2015.

External links