"No Exceedances Found" - Temirtau Air Tested

Environmental specialists conducted their latest air quality inspection in Temirtau during evening hours, responding to criticism of previous daytime testing, reports Orda.kz, citing ekaraganda.kz.

Residents had said that daytime measurements didn't reflect the actual air quality situation, arguing that pollution levels are significantly higher in the evening.

Despite the timing change, environmentalists found no excessive pollution within residential areas.

The only difference from previous inspections was visual - the darkness obscured the usually visible smoke plumes.

The evening testing measured various pollutants, including suspended particles, soot, nitrogen oxide and dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. Measurements were taken at the boundaries of major industrial facilities' sanitary protection zones and in the city center.

Results showed elevated levels at the northern border of the Qarmet sanitary protection zone, with sulfur dioxide at 2.1 times the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) and suspended substances at 1.9 MPC.

However, these excessive readings were only detected outside Temirtau's residential areas.

CREA experts previously evaluated the Qarmet metallurgical plant's environmental impact from 1996 to 2023, concluding that the company's operations in Kazakhstan had caused significant ecological damage and resulted in fatalities.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova