“Built in Soviet Times”: Minister Comments on Air Pollution Incident in Oskemen

Ecology Minister Yerlan Nysanbayev addressed the recent air pollution incident in Oskemen, where harmful substances were released at the end of May. Speaking at the Senate, the minister recalled that he visited the site and held a meeting at the plant, Orda.kz reports.

The Minister assured that air quality monitoring in the sanitary zone began immediately after the incident. In some areas, pollution levels exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations by one and a half times, and in others, by up to seven times.

There was indeed a release at that time. The situation is now stable, and pollution levels are within permissible limits. But back then, we did register excesses at several monitoring points. Fortunately, the plant was built in Soviet times with wind direction in mind. During the release, the wind was not blowing toward the city, so pollution in the residential area was lower than it could have been, Nysanbayev explained. 

He added that a commission from the ministry is still working on-site, and its conclusions will be made public soon. While he could not guarantee that similar incidents wouldn’t happen again this year, he emphasized that strict measures would be taken against the enterprise.

Original Author: Artem Volkov