BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15
By Fakhri Vakilov-Trend:
Uzbekistan plans to create an online pollution map which will assess the state of atmospheric air, water and land resources and be open for public, Trend reports citing the press service of Uzbekistan’s State Committee for Ecology.
According to the committee, the first step in the map development will be the organization of a system of posts for automatic measurement of air pollution throughout the country and the inclusion of the smallest suspended particulate matter in monitoring. A modern information system for collecting data on monitoring results from the involved departments and business entities will also be introduced.
It is also planned to update the material and technical base of the profile service of the State Committee for Ecology. In February, two mobile laboratories worth about $750,000 will be set up to help conduct automatic measurements and analyze atmospheric air. This year, the committee will direct $627,100 from extrabudgetary sources to provide equipment for 15 analytical laboratories in the regions.
Particular attention will be paid to monitoring emissions of cement industry enterprises, which are among the entities that have the greatest negative impact on the environment and human health. The main pollutant is dust, including fine dust.
In the fall of 2019, the State Committee for Ecology together with the territorial divisions of the Ministry of Health and Uzhydromet conducted atmospheric air sampling at more than 10 specialized enterprises. In five cases, the analyses showed an excess of the maximum permissible concentration for dust: Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakastan’s Titan cement JV (excess 1.06-4.6 times) and Karakalpak cement JV (6.06 times), Fergana region’s "Turon eco cement group" (1.68-1.8 times)," Yaypangips "(1.7-1.86 times) and Fergana cement JV (1.16-1.36 times).
Based on the results of a study of the environmental impact of these business entities, State Committee for Ecology developed a draft resolution “On Strengthening Environmental Control over the Activities of Cement Production Enterprises”.
If approved by the cabinet, the document will oblige all cement enterprises operating in Uzbekistan to establish automatic stations for sampling and analysis of samples at sources of air pollution by January 1, 2022, as well as stationary observation points in the adjacent territory at their own expense. The mandatory inclusion of all these industries in the list of economic entities subject to monitoring of pollution sources from this year is also proposed.
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