Vital Waste Graphics 2

0 2 4 6 8 ENERGY PRODUCTION WASTE No energy without waste Many of today’s products involve complex production pro- cesses that use large amounts of energy. Waste is a major environmental concern for the energy sector. Depending on the type of energy, the production process itself will generate substantial quantities of waste. The energy sector generates specific types of waste: waste from mining and upgrading coal and lignite (tailing); waste from oil and gas refining; combustion waste from thermal power stations; waste from air-pollution abatement devices and finally the components of the power station itself which must be dis- mantled at the end of its service life (particularly sensitive in the case of nuclear power stations).

Poland 10 12 14 16 18 Million tonnes Turkey

Energy production waste in selected European countries

Romania

Czech Republic Bulgaria

Slovenia The Netherlands Denmark

Belgium

Spain

Portugal

Finland

Croatia

Norway

Source: EIONET, European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management, 2006 (figures for 2002).

Radioactive waste hotspots and transboundary pollution in Central Asia’s Ferghana Valley

Oil and coal production Metallurgical industry Waste from polluting industries

Poorly managed waste sites Mining tailing ponds and piles Municipal waste

Radioactive material processing and storage sites Uranium tailing or radioactive processing Closed uranium mine

Pesticides and hazardous chemicals

Pollution pathways

0

50

100 km

Transboundary risk of soil, air and water contamination

Spills and reported industrial accidents

Toktogul Reservoir

Chatkal Reservoir

KAZAKHSTAN

C h i r c h i k

TEREKSAY

KYRGYZSTAN

KYZYLDZHAR

A h a n g a r o n

TASH-KUMIR

Chardara Reservoir

Tashkent

SHEKAFTAR

SUMSAR

MAILUU-SUU

YANGEBAT

CHARKESAR

CHADAK

S y r - D a r y a

Jalal-Abad

Namangan

Andijan

ALMALYK

Syrdarya

UYGURSAY

ADRASMAN

K a r a - D a r y a

Andijan Reservoir

MINGBULAK OIL FIELD

S y r - D a r i a

Osh

TABOSHAR

Gulistan

Karakkum Reservoir

Ferghana

Khujand

UZBEKISTAN

BEKABAD

TEO-MOYUN

KANIBADAM

KAN

ISFARA SHURAB

KADAMJAI

DEGMAY GAFUROV CHKALOVSK

Jizakh

Batken

KHAIDARKAN

SULUKTA

K y z y l s u

TAJIKISTAN

CHINA

ZERAVSHAN

ANZOB

Source: UNEP, UNDP, NATO, OSCE, Environment and Security Initiative, 2005.

to wind erosion and easily accessible to grazing animals. Local people are often unaware of the risks of exposure to radiation, using metal and tailing materials for building. Farmland borders tailing areas and children use waste storage sites as playgrounds.

The Soviet Union used the Ferghana Valley as one of its main sources of metal and uranium ore. The area has many nuclear waste storage sites, abandoned uranium mines with poorly secured tailing dams and nuclear reactors that pose a severe security hazard. Tailings are exposed