More on the Cyanide Accident at Lake Issyk-Kul

Reports on cyanides detected in the area of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kirgyzstan have appeared in the media more than once. This news has more relevance to Ukraine than may seem on the surface, for the country had declared plans to mine gold and to use similar technologies. We therefore would like to revisit the issue of responsibility of some persons for selection of technologies and for potential damage to environment - and people.

Igor Hodzhamberdyev, M.D. <igroho@casia.freenet.bishkek.su>. Kirgyzstan and US Greens meet. US environmentalists from Pacific Center for Environmental Protection visited Kirgyzstan from 1 through 8 July 1998. They had been invited by the local green activists who wanted the Americans to share their experience of fighting gold-mining companies that use cyanides. Of great interest to the Kyrgyzstanis was a 26-page epic of two year long joint struggle lead by PCEP and Russian NGOs against the practices followed by Amax Gold and its Russian partners like Geometall, Magadanzoloto etc. at Kubak, Magadan Oblast, Russia.

The company proudly claimed in its statement to EBRD in 1993 that the project would be highly advanced and the risks of air and water pollution would be reduced to a minimum. An independent investigation of 1997-1998 revealed, however, that the tailing pond designs had been dramatically changed from those of 1993. The pond located in the permafrost area already shows signs of cyanide leaks. The company was long past the deadlines of submitting plans for redemption of the pond area and systematically withheld information from PCEP and the NGOs in Russia.

As for Kirgyzstan, the "small-scale" accident with a leaking cyanide container might be no more than a warning. There are fears of a "medium-scale" accident at Balykchi, also on the shore of the once crystal clear lake, and a threat of a "large-scale cyanide disaster" exists at the 100,000,000 cubic meter tailing pond near the Upper Ara-Bel River. Moreover, the practices of Kum-Tor Operating might lead to pollution of potable water sources at Ak-Shiyrak Range. The company refused access to information on what processes it used and whether it recovered not only gold but also silver, tungsten and tellurium formerly found in the area. The American environmentalists were not allowed to the mining site of Kum-Tor Operating either.

They promised to give more help and advised to request the company's information in keeping with the Information Freedom Act and to inform the banks funding Kum-Tor and Cameco, including Chaise Manhattan and EBRD.

People at the Cyanide Area go over to protest actions. People at the village of Tosor held the manager of Kum-Tor Operating as hostage for at least an hour on 8 July. Beginning 10 July, about 400 local inhabitants blocked the highway, detaining the company's vehicles. At the neighboring Barskoon, where the accident had occurred, 50 women lay on the road to stop the company's trucks. The demands included more material compensation and a stop to mining at Kum-Tor.