1958 Mailuu-Suu tailings dam failure

1958 dam failure in Central Asia The 1958 Mailuu-Suu tailings dam failure in the industrial town of Mailuu-Suu, (Kyrgyz: Майлуу-Суу), Jalal-Abad Region, southern Kyrgyzstan, caused the uncontrolled release of 600000 m3 of radioactive waste. The event caused several direct casualties and widespread environmental damage. It was the single worst incident in a region of arid, mountainous western Kyrgyzstan, with a collection of shuttered Soviet-era uranium mining and processing sites, a legacy of extensive radioactive waste dumps, and a history of flooding and mudslides. As of 2017, despite recent remediations funded by the World Bank and others, the treatment of radioactive waste at Mailuu-Suu still poses serious health and safety risks for local residents.Watson Ivan Kyrgyz Town Lives with Radioactive Soviet Legacy https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18666435 30 December 2017 National Public Radio 5 February 2008 Background Oil was discovered here in the early 1900s. Deposits of radium-bearing barites had been discovered by Alexander Fersman in 1929, during his national mineralogical resources survey for the new Soviet government.Glasby Dr. G.P. A.E. Fersman and the Kola Peninsula https://www.geochemsoc.org/publications/geochemicalnews/gn135apr08/aefersmanandthekolapeninsu/ Geochemical Society 30 December 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20160727061802/https://www.geochemsoc.org/publications/geochemicalnews/gn135apr08/aefersmanandthekolapeninsu/ 27 July 2016 dead Uranium mining began in 1946, organized by the "Zapadnyi Mining and Chemical Combine". In addition to mining, two uranium plants would process more than 10,000 ST MT of uranium ore, by ion exchange and alkaline leach, to produce uranium oxide for Soviet atomic bomb projects. The processed ore was both mined locally and imported from elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc.Djenchuraev, N. Current environmental issues associated with mining wastes in Kyrgyzstan. Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of Central European University, Budapest, 1999. The town was classified as one of the Soviet government's secret cities, officially known only as "Mailbox 200".Nasritdinov Emil https://books.google.com/books?id=m1vjtrmLpu4C&pg=PA241 Environment, Forced Migration and Social Vulnerability Ablezova Mehrigul Abarikova Jypara Abdoubaetova Aigoul 5 August 2010 Springer Science & Business Media 9783642124167 Jäger Jill 241 Environmental Migration: Case of Kyrgyzstan 30 December 2017 Afifi Tamer Uranium mining was halted in 1968. Operations left behind some 23 separate uranium tailings dams and 13 waste rock dumps,Mailuu-Suu Legacy Uranium Dumps http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/projects/display/129 Blacksmith Institute 30 December 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20140202094342/http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/projects/display/129 2014-02-02 dead poorly designed on unstable hillsides above a town of 20,000 people in an area prone to both landslides and earthquakes, holding a total 1900000 m3 of material containing radionuclides and heavy metals. No attempt to stabilize or seal the material was done when Soviet mining ceased.Uranium in Kyrgyzstan http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-g-n/kyrgyzstan.aspx World Nuclear Association 30 December 2017 Dam failure On April 16, 1958, with mining and processing plants still operational, a combination of poor design, neglect, heavy rainfall and a reported earthquake caused the #7 tailings dam at Mailuu-Suu to fail. About 50% of the entire volume of the dam flowed into the swift Mailuu-Suu River, only 30 m downhill from the breach. The waste then spread about 40 km downstream across the national border into Uzbekistan then into the heavily populated Fergana Valley. The Mailuu-Suu River is a tributary of the Kara Darya, used for agricultural irrigation in the valley. Some fatalities, building destruction, and contamination of the flood plain were reported as the direct result of the mudflow.Birsen N. Kadyrzhanov Kairat K. Environmental Protection Against Radioactive Pollution: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Environmental Protection Against Radioactive Pollution Almati, Kazakhstan 16–19 September 2002 6 December 2012 Springer Science & Business Media 59 https://books.google.com/books?id=c4G4BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 30 December 2017 9789400709751 Lack of any public response by officials makes it difficult to identify fatalities from the April 1958 event, especially as distinguished from everyday exposure. Aftermath Longterm health effects are more measurable. Grave threats to long-term residents persist,Uranium in Central Asia: Poisoned legacy https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21657431-vast-region-suffers-soviet-unions-radioactive-hangover-poisoned-legacy 10 July 2015 The Economist with residents experiencing far higher rates of cancer, goiter, anemia,Trilling David Kyrgyzstan: Radioactive Legacy Vexes Bishkek http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052709a.shtml 30 December 2017 Eurasia.net 26 May 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20130203130545/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052709a.shtml 3 February 2013 dead and other illnesses related to radiological exposure.Landslide close to Mailuu-Suu uranium dump http://www.irinnews.org/news/2005/04/14/landslide-close-mailuu-suu-uranium-dump 30 December 2017 Irin News 14 April 2005 Mailuu-Suu was found to be one of the 10 most polluted sites in the world in a study published in 2006 by the Blacksmith Institute.The 2006 Top 10 of Worst Polluted Places http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/the-2006-top-ten-of-worst-polluted-places.html Blacksmith Institute 30 December 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20140505141447/http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/the-2006-top-ten-of-worst-polluted-places.html 2014-05-05 dead Annual spring flooding and the lack of maintenance pose a continued threat of further releases of radioactive material. In 1994, a new landslide temporarily dammed the Mailuu-Suu River. In 2002 a flood caused by a mudslide nearly submerged a tailings pit. The World Bank approved a US$5 million grant to reclaim the tailings pits in 2004,Sarah MacGregor https://www.osce.org/bishkek/57474 Finding a solution for uranium waste in Kyrgyzstan - OSCE Centre in Bishkek Osce.org 2004-02-04 2014-01-30 and approved an additional $1 million grant for the project in 2011.http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22936608~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html News & Broadcast - 28,000 Inhabitants of Mailuu-Suu Valey [sic] in the Kyrgyz Republic to Benefit from Improved and Safer Access on the Road to Villages Web.worldbank.org 2011-06-09 2014-01-30 The United Nations Development Programme, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have also funded programs.EBRD to fund remediation of Central Asian uranium dumps https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsebrd-to-fund-remediation-of-central-asian-uranium-dumps-5724908 30 December 2017 Nuclear Engineering Intl 21 January 2017 Documents The incident has been documented, but any photos and videos about the Mailuu-Suu tailings dam collapse are kept as confidential and private by the government and all archives were hidden. References 2 41 15 36 N 72 26 59 E region:KG title Category:Tailings dam failures Category:Radioactively contaminated areas Category:Radiation accidents and incidents Category:1958 mining disasters Category:Mining in Kyrgyzstan Category:1958 in the Soviet Union Category:Disasters in the Soviet Union Category:1958 disasters in the Soviet Union Category:Dam failures in Asia Category:April 1958 in Asia