Environmental and health concerns
Within a short distance of the Khaidarkan facilities mer- cultural soils, pollution will continue even when production
cury contamination has been a problem for 70 years and stops. Limited studies suggest human health may have
continues to be a challenge in some instances. High mer- suffered in the past, with some workers still facing higher
cury concentrations are found in slag, sludge and tailings health risks today and children’s neurological systems suf-
from the mine. These may significantly impact the town, fering damage. But mercury’s global dispersal means that
surrounding farmland, and natural waterways, all of which concern over contamination in Khaidarkan is much more
show elevated mercury concentrations, often exceeding widely spread. Rivers which flow from Kyrgyzstan to both
Kyrgyzstan’s national standards. Environmental protec- its neighbours, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and the impor-
tion is very limited, and monitoring and reporting are in- tance to all of them of the fertile Ferghana Valley, mean
adequate. Due to waste deposits and contaminated agri- Khaidarkan’s shadow probably falls on them as well.