Fluoride Action Network

Uzbek Senate supports immediate measures to decrease impacts of TALCO emissions

Source: Trend.Az | August 23rd, 2013
Location: Uzbekistan
Industry type: Aluminum Industry

Uzbek Senate believes that it is necessary to increase the attention of international ecological organizations, UN structures, parliaments, governments and international community to the solution of increasingly worsening ecological disaster in the zone of activity of TALCO State Unitary Enterprise – Tajik Aluminum Company and to take immediate measures on its reprofiling, according to Senate decree adopted during the meeting on Thursday on the results of discussion of the measures on neutralization of catastrophic impact of TALCO’s production activity on ecology and human health.

According to the data from Ecology Movement and Uzbek civil society institutions, the aluminum enterprise, built in Tursunzade city in 1975, currently emits nearly 22,000-23,000 tons of pollutants , including over 200 tons of hydrogen fluoride which is the most dangerous and harmful pollutant for human health and environment.

As a result, the content of hydrogen fluoride in the atmospheric air exceeds the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) by 1.8-2 times and during summer- by 3.4 times on average in the Northern regions of Surkhandarya province.

The speakers stressed that TALCO emissions with high content of other toxic gases – carbon oxide, sulfur, hydrocarbons and other pollutants adversely affect the health of nearly 1 million people densely living there.

The number of stillbirth cases increased by 7.7 times in the regions subject to transboundary impact of Tajik aluminum production.

Economy and agriculture receive severe blow; the yield of vegetable crops decreased by 27-46 per cent, melon – by 24.4 per cent, vineyards – by 37.8 per cent, sericulture, which is traditional for this region has virtually disappeared in last 20 years.

Independent experts, international conservation organizations come to a conclusion that ecological situation continue to deteriorate in the region.

According to the data from Tajik experts, the health state of Tajik population in the impact zone of TALCO State Unitary Enterprise systematically worsens.

The materials of audit inspections conducted under the auspices of World Bank in 2012, indicate that the resources of TALCO’s production techniques are exhausted; there is a natural wear and tear of the equipment.

However, Tajikistan absolutely ignores the demands of international community to take measures for stopping the pollution of environment.

“Such attitude to the large-scale and increasingly worsening problem, which harms ecology and the health of population in both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, cannot be regarded as normal,” the decree said.

In this regard, Uzbek Senate made a decision to take all relevant measures within Uzbekistan to reduce negative impact of TALCO SUE emissions on human health and the environment, mobilizing necessary organizational and legal norms, resources and opportunities for this.

According to the document, the problems of transboundary pollution can and should be solved in accordance to generally accepted principles and norms of international law, relevant UN resolutions focused on protection of human health, his rights to clean environment.

“To day, the life and health of hundreds of thousands people living in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the fate of future generations, who will live and work in this region depends on early solution of these problems,” the decree said.