Attempt to clean up river contaminated with dangerous levels of mercury will worsen situation
| Location |
Kazakhstan
|
| Total Cost |
$67.82 million
|
| Funding |
World Bank $40.39 million
|
| Status |
Approved May 8, 2003
|
The long Soviet legacy of environmentally irresponsible construction and industrial projects in Kazakhstan has taken its toll on the country’s natural and human resources. The Nura River in the Karaganda province of northeastern Kazakhstan was used as a major water supply source, despite the alarming mercury levels in it. This dangerous pollution is not new: 150 tons of mercury were discharged into the Nura River over a period 25 years, contaminating the river beds to levels of 200mg/kg. Water supply was suspended, leaving the population without a critical water source.
The World Bank is financing the Nura River Cleanup Project, which is composed of four parts:
- The construction of a landfill for proper containment of contaminated soil;
- excavation of contaminated hotspots at the Temirtau factory site;
- excavation of other highly contaminated areas like swamps and areas of particularly polluted areas along the banks and floodplains of the River, and and transport of the materials to a landfill site; and
- project management and monitoring, as well as training in procurement, disbursement, accounting, and auditing project accounts. (The project also aims to implement the environmental management plan and offer specialist assistance in other areas.)
Work is scheduled to begin spring of 2008 and is expected to be completed by August 2010. The work cannot begin before the yearly spring floods end, which varies from year to year.