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2018-01-11 18:34:23 UTC
Black snow troubles pollution-weary Kazakhs in Temirtau
By Abdujalil Abdurasulov, BBC News, 1 hour ago
==================
Instagram post by temirtau.city
=====================
Much of the snow in the city of Temirtau in central Kazakhstan is
black.
Instead of the usual white powder that children love to play with, the
snow looks more like coal after a mysterious dark dust settled on the
city in the beginning of January.
Many residents, worried about their health, took to social media to
call on the government to investigate the incident.
"We can't live like this. We're suffocating here," wrote one user.
A special group of scientists, made up of both independent ecologists
and government experts, is working to identify the causes.
Temirtau is the centre of Kazakhstan's iron industry and the home to
the country's biggest steel production plant - Karaganda Metallurgical
Combine, owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau, a subsidiary of the global
industrial giant ArcelorMittal.
Many in Temirtau believe that pollution from this metallurgical
complex is what has turned the snow black.
Angry residents started collecting signatures for a petition addressed
to Aliya Nazarbayeva, the youngest daughter of President Nursultan
Nazarbayev and the head of the Association of Ecological Organisations
of Kazakhstan.
=======================
Instagram post by irinabodagova
=======================
"The snow acts as a litmus test, revealing the frightening scale of
these harmful emissions," the letter said. "All that dust from the
plant ends up in our lungs, and in the lungs of our kids."
ArcelorMittal Temirtau does not deny that pollution caused by its
plants may have played a major role here.
In December there was no wind and in such conditions, it acknowledged
in a statement, "emissions do not dissipate and this most likely
caused the change of the snow's colour".
The Karaganda region, where Temirtau is located, is considered the
worst in the country in terms of harmful emissions.
In 2016, nearly 600,000 tons of harmful substances were released into
the air in Karaganda according to Kazakhstan's statistics committee.
In December 2017 alone, the national meteorological agency recorded
levels of hydrogen sulphide in Temirtau exceeding the
government-mandated limit by more than 11 times.
[Map]
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42653738
By Abdujalil Abdurasulov, BBC News, 1 hour ago
==================
Instagram post by temirtau.city
=====================
Much of the snow in the city of Temirtau in central Kazakhstan is
black.
Instead of the usual white powder that children love to play with, the
snow looks more like coal after a mysterious dark dust settled on the
city in the beginning of January.
Many residents, worried about their health, took to social media to
call on the government to investigate the incident.
"We can't live like this. We're suffocating here," wrote one user.
A special group of scientists, made up of both independent ecologists
and government experts, is working to identify the causes.
Temirtau is the centre of Kazakhstan's iron industry and the home to
the country's biggest steel production plant - Karaganda Metallurgical
Combine, owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau, a subsidiary of the global
industrial giant ArcelorMittal.
Many in Temirtau believe that pollution from this metallurgical
complex is what has turned the snow black.
Angry residents started collecting signatures for a petition addressed
to Aliya Nazarbayeva, the youngest daughter of President Nursultan
Nazarbayev and the head of the Association of Ecological Organisations
of Kazakhstan.
=======================
Instagram post by irinabodagova
=======================
"The snow acts as a litmus test, revealing the frightening scale of
these harmful emissions," the letter said. "All that dust from the
plant ends up in our lungs, and in the lungs of our kids."
ArcelorMittal Temirtau does not deny that pollution caused by its
plants may have played a major role here.
In December there was no wind and in such conditions, it acknowledged
in a statement, "emissions do not dissipate and this most likely
caused the change of the snow's colour".
The Karaganda region, where Temirtau is located, is considered the
worst in the country in terms of harmful emissions.
In 2016, nearly 600,000 tons of harmful substances were released into
the air in Karaganda according to Kazakhstan's statistics committee.
In December 2017 alone, the national meteorological agency recorded
levels of hydrogen sulphide in Temirtau exceeding the
government-mandated limit by more than 11 times.
[Map]
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42653738