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Mongolia to clean up toxins left from mining |
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Friday, 04 April 2008 |
 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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