Mailuu-Suu
| Mailuu-Suu Майлуусуу |
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|---|---|
 Mailuu-Suu
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country |  Kyrgyzstan |
| Province | Jalal-Abad Province |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 16,953 |
Mailuusuu (Kyrgyz: Майлуусуу) is a mining town in Jalal-Abad Province of southern Kyrgyzstan that has been economically depressed since the fall of the Soviet Union. From 1946 to 1968 the Zapadnyi Mining and Chemical Combine in Mailuu-Suu mined and processed more than 10,000 short tons (9,100 t) of uranium ore for the Soviet nuclear program.[1] Uranium mining and processing is no longer economical, leaving much of the local population of about 20,000 without meaningful work.[2]
Uranium mills
The USSR left 23 unstable uranium tailings pits on the tectonically unstable hillside above the town.[3] A landslide in 1958 released 6,000 cubic metres (1,600,000 US gal).[4] In 1994, a landslide blocked the Mailuu-Suu River, damaging a waste reservoir, and a flood caused by a mudslide nearly submerged a tailings pit in 2002.[5] 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.[6] The World Bank approved a US$5 million grant to reclaim the tailings pits in 2004,[5] and approved an additional $1 million grant for the project in 2011.[7] However, grave threats still persist.[8]
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References
- ↑ Djenchuraev, N. Current environmental issues associated with mining wastes in Kyrgyzstan. Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of Central European University, Budapest, 1999.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ [1] Archived December 9, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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