Oskemen Residents Concerned After Smog Incident

A yellow smog has blanketed the Sogru industrial zone in Oskemen since yesterday, with environmentalists detecting elevated levels of toxic chlorine in the air. Local authorities have advised residents to keep windows closed and keep children home from school.

However, city officials, including the Akim, have been unable to access the Titanium-Magnesium Plant, where the emission is believed to have originated. The plant denies that an industrial accident occurred, Orda.kz reports.

Many residents reported a strong chlorine odor and throat irritation. Bloggers and commenters described experiencing symptoms such as dizziness and a burning sensation in the throat. Environmental specialists responded first, reporting at 17:30 that chlorine levels exceeded the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) by nearly double.

Local authorities visited the site and, by 19:30, issued a statement confirming chlorine levels had surpassed the MPC by a factor of 1.8. However, a subsequent release from the plant provided a different perspective:

According to the company, on that day, an unscheduled preventive cleaning of the condensation system of chlorination unit No. 3 was carried out at the plant. During the work, the slag fell, as a result of which the flue gas duct was blocked. According to the data of the testing laboratory of UK TMK, the condition of the atmospheric air at the boundary of the sanitary protection zone for the chlorine indicator was within the maximum permissible concentrations (MPC). 

Another official release noted that inspectors from the industrial safety department visited the plant between 10:00 and 16:00 on May 19 as part of a scheduled inspection:

Representatives of the plant maintain that chlorine emissions did not exceed permissible levels. Yet residents continue to question the situation.

We were driving from a quarry at about 19:10. On the way we saw a big cloud of green smoke. There was a smell of burnt wires and chlorine! My throat didn’t hurt. There was no panic either. My head was spinning a little while we were driving in this smog, smoke, if you can call it that. We just drove quickly and were glad that it didn’t go into the city. We learned that it was a chlorine emission from a news public on Instagram. People wrote on social networks that they felt sick,
said one local resident. 

That evening, the Akim of Oskemen addressed the public, saying the situation was under control and local clinics were ready to assist those experiencing symptoms.

There is no data yet on how many people sought medical help. Children in the affected areas were transferred to distance learning, and a special commission has been formed to review the incident.

Activists have raised concerns about a lack of transparency. Environmental advocate Daulet Asanov noted the difficulty of accessing industrial sites during emergencies:

This is far from the first incident. This happens to us quite often. Titanium-Magnesium does not allow anyone to come in for inspection. Even the city Akim stood behind the fence, that is, not on the territory. It turns out that while government agencies do not go there, it is like a state within a state. They say: 'the situation is under control.' What kind of control can there be if you cannot even go there and do not see what is happening. You can only know something from the words of company representatives. Therefore, all this will be repeated endlessly, and this situation is practically at all plants. There are legislative mechanisms, but for some reason, when it comes to TMK, they do not work. It is just that if some government agency cannot get in, then the prosecutor’s office must work. But they clammed up. 

A similar incident occurred on November 20 last year, when chlorine and hydrogen concentrations were reportedly nearly ten times above permissible limits. At that time, information about the hazard spread primarily through social media.

Human rights defender Alexei Bozhkov has taken the issue to court:

To say that I am outraged is to say nothing. The court decisions on the November events have not yet come into force, and the situation is already repeating itself. The civil defense system must be clearly established. Smoke starts to appear — an alert immediately goes off. What is happening, take measures to avoid poisoning. And every time we see the same thing. Nothing changes. I will clearly voice this fact in court. 

Azamat Tauyrbekov, acting head of the East Kazakhstan regional Department of Ecology, commented on the latest situation:

The Minister of Ecology of Kazakhstan is currently visiting the region. Residents hope the visit will lead to improved oversight of facilities with potential environmental risks.

Original Author: Indira Kakimova