For more than two decades, 80 tons of dangerous chemicals have sat in disused Kristall.
Krgyzystan’s graveyard of factories is a chemical time bomb. The site is now owned by Computer Power Center LLC, a crypto-mining company registered in Kyrgyzstan 2019.Even after he retired in 2019, chemical engineer Suidumbek Kalmurzayev remained preoccupied by the fate of his former workplace in Tash-Kumyr, a Kyrgyz city that sits at the gateway to Central Asia’s Fergana Valley and is known locally as “the graveyard of factories.
Kalmurzayev died last year after a brief illness, leaving behind a trove of documents and press cuttings connected to the Soviet-legacy Kristall polysilicon factory where he was the last employee. For more than two decades, 80 tons of dangerous chemicals have sat in disused Kristall, which once transformed volatile compounds into materials for semiconductors and was slated to become one of the biggest plants in the world of its type.
“Everybody knows that there is poison in these tankers, residue in the pipes. We raised these questions [with the state property fund] right after we bought the plant. Everyone knows that we won’t get any investors here until the issue is resolved,” said Oskonbayev.The shifting of responsibility for the chemicals has been a pattern at the plant, which has mostly stood idle after being prepped for privatization in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early 1990s.
The following year brought bloody revolution, nationalization and accusations of mass embezzlement and worse aimed by the new regime at the fugitive Bakiyevs and their associates. There are “huge risks” of the rusting tanks exploding during the middle of Tash-Kumyr’s summers, when temperatures regularly rise over 40 degrees Celsius, or in winter, when fierce winds batter the area, the scientist added.
During an interview in his office, both Bektemirov and his deputy cast doubt on the crypto mining firm’s claim that the chemicals in the tanks are still the responsibility of TSP – the Bakiyev-linked company that was nationalized.
Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Book at Leeds library found laced with a deadly poisonThe book was discovered by librarians as part of a global search for toxic books
Lire la suite »
Rare book laced with poison found by Leeds librarian who came across a list of toxic tomesNow a rare book laced with deadly poison has been discovered by a curious librarian who came across a database of toxic tomes
Lire la suite »
Rare poisonous book discovered in Leeds library over 150 years after publicationA rare book laced with a deadly poison has been discovered by librarians in Leeds as part of a global search for the toxic texts stashed on shelves across the world.
Lire la suite »
Maura Higgins had Toxic Shock Syndrome after losing a tampon for 3 months. Here's how to tell if you have TSSMaura Higgins just opened up about Toxic Shock Syndrome. But what actually is it?
Lire la suite »
PetroChina Records 60% Profit Jump Despite Lower Demand | OilPrice.comState-run PetroChina, Asia’s largest oil and gas producer and China’s second-largest refiner, is reporting $16.66 billion in profits from January to September, for a 60% jump year-on-year
Lire la suite »