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Mongolia to clean up toxins left from mining PDF Print E-mail
News - General News
Friday, 04 April 2008 08:24
Mongolia has announced it will begin a program to clean up contaminated areas polluted when toxic chemicals were used in mining. 

The government has said that an initial collection of data indicates over 200,000 tons of industrial wastes have been identified for removal. 

Experts note that illegal methods of mining, particularly in mining gold, often involved the use of cyanide sodium and mercury, which remained mixed in top soils after the mining had ceased. 

Areas of contamination have been discovered in 36 soums. Government plans for cleaning up the sites involve moving all contaminated soil to central areas where gold and mercury will be removed from the poisoned soil. Following that, toxic wastes will be treated and buried. 

The first areas targeted for clean up are Bornuur and Jargalant soums of Tov aimag. Area residents will also undergo medical screenings to determine if any ill-effects from the chemicals reached the population. 

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