Oskemen: People Spoke Out About Poor Air Quality

A group of activists from Ridder gathered to speak about the topic of Oskemen's environment, Orda.kz reports.

People sought to draw the public's and local authorities' attention to the environmental problems in the East Kazakhstan region, including systemic river pollution, soil poisoning, and regular emissions into the atmosphere.

The organizers demanded things such as:

• Tighten environmental control over industrial enterprises
• Hold investors accountable for violating environmental laws
• Take effective measures to improve the ecological situation in the East Kazakhstan region
• Reduce the dependence of the Department of Ecology on the decisions of third parties,
  toughen penalties for environmental crimes. 

Participants distrusted official data and demanded that the authorities respond to public statements.

They also urged people to be more active. 

The ecological situation in Oskemen is very bad, there are many illnesses, I ask you to participate in assemblies, without being afraid to express your opinion. This is our right, provided by the Constitution. Know how to protect your rights. Ecology is our life. It is also the future of our generation. And the health of our city and East Kazakhstan residents depends on it. Our ecological situation can be recognized as genocide. Do not simply overlook it,
Civil activist Aidar Baisagatov said. 

Another activist, Adil Yusupov, added:

Children are getting sick, their throats are being burned, children are being hospitalized, every home has its own first aid kit against burns. We don't have environmentalists who would actually deal with these issues. How many environmentalists have we imprisoned? If environmentalists did their job responsibly, the environment would improve. What will we leave for our descendants? Polluted air? Why did only 20 people come today? Wake up, Kazakhstanis! We have one goal - to protect the environment! And this is our common home. On the 20th, the hospitals were overcrowded! The emissions poisoned us.

Those gathered noted the harm caused by industrial enterprises and the lack of oversight over cemeteries, pig farms, and garbage dumps. Representatives from the internal policy department were also present.

During the gathering, Chinese companies' presence became a point of contention. 

We have drawn up a report, that is, we have video recording that, according to today's organizers and participants of the peaceful assembly, the conversation has already turned to China and that there is some violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. And this, according to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, deviates from the notification under Article 17. This was not indicated in the form of the peaceful assembly.  Sarsenbek Ulrakhat, the Oskemen internal policy department chief specialist, explained: 

This was a warning, and Ulrakhat clarified there would be no fine for this violation.

Those gathered were at a loss – the discussion was about the ecology of the East Kazakhstan region regardless. 

Oskemen residents have claimed to have experienced nausea, throat burns, and headaches; comments on social media also reflected this.

We contacted the regional Department of Ecology. 

Azamat Tauyrbekov, acting head of the Department of Ecology for East Kazakhstan region, stated:

About hydrogen chlorides. On November 20, yes, there was an incident in the area of ​​Gagarin Boulevard. Videos were published on social networks. The Department of Ecology set off immediately, established an excess of hydrogen chloride. They conducted an analysis, sent a corresponding letter to the Prosecutor's Office to file a protest with the prosecutor's supervision to appoint an inspection. According to the results of the analysis, the alleged polluters are Kazzinc LLP and VOSTOK MASH PLANT JSC. Emissions were recorded yesterday but not today.

In the East Kazakhstan region, 229 new cases of lung cancer were registered in the first 10 months of 2024. This is 12.7% more than in 2023, when 201 cases were detected. The incidence rate in the region was 31.3 per 100 thousand people, said VKO Multidisciplinary Center for Oncology and Surgery head and the EKR Health Care Institution chief oncologist, Gulmira Sagidullina.

Original Author: Indira Kakimova

The original article was published on 27/11/24. For accuracy, please refer to it.