Kazakhstan: Inspection finds environmental standards violations at uranium mine
[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]
Violations found at Zarechnoye uranium deposit, 10 November 2024
In mid-October, an unscheduled inspection was conducted at the Zarechnoye uranium mine in the Turkestan region. The Department of Ecology found serious violations: the national nuclear company not only failed to report an accident, but also violated basic waste management requirements by allowing the land to be contaminated with sulfuric acid.
The company was given a strict order to eliminate the contamination and begin restoring the soil...
According to official data, representatives of the local administration and law enforcement agencies, as well as the blogger who published the incriminating footage, have already visited the mine. However, doubts remain, and the inspection is ongoing: environmental inspectors are taking soil samples to determine the extent of the damage...