Mailuu-Suu
Encyclopedia
Mailuusuu is a mining town in Jalal-Abad Province
of southern Kyrgyzstan
which has fallen on very hard times since the demise of the Soviet Union
. Uranium mining and processing is no longer economical, leaving much of the local population of about 20,000 without meaningful work.
The main legacy of the Soviet past is, however, the danger from the large number of unstable uranium
tailings
pits on the tectonically unstable hillside above it. Indeed, Mailuusuu was found to be one of the 10 most polluted sites in the world in a study published on October 2006 by the Blacksmith Institute
http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/site10g.php. Substantial investments will be needed to secure these sites and prevent them from emptying upon the town and river below. Since 2003 the Worldbank has been financing a first phase of this effort.
Jalal-Abad Province
Jalal-Abad Province, also known as Jalalabat , is a province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is the city of the same name, Jalal-Abad. It is surrounded by Talas Province, Chui Province, Naryn Province, Osh Province and Uzbekistan. The Jalal-Abad Province was established on November 21, 1939...
of southern Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
which has fallen on very hard times since the demise of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Uranium mining and processing is no longer economical, leaving much of the local population of about 20,000 without meaningful work.
The main legacy of the Soviet past is, however, the danger from the large number of unstable uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
tailings
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
pits on the tectonically unstable hillside above it. Indeed, Mailuusuu was found to be one of the 10 most polluted sites in the world in a study published on October 2006 by the Blacksmith Institute
Blacksmith Institute
Founded in 1999, Blacksmith Institute is an international non-for-profit organization dedicated to eliminating life-threatening pollution in the developing world. Blacksmith identifies and cleans up the world's worst polluted places, focusing on communities where children are most at risk. Based in...
http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/site10g.php. Substantial investments will be needed to secure these sites and prevent them from emptying upon the town and river below. Since 2003 the Worldbank has been financing a first phase of this effort.