Pollutant emissions from stationary sources, kilotons - 2017–2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
598,7 | 598,7 | 641,3 |
Industrial enterprise and motor vehicle exhaust are the principal sources of air pollution in the region.
Stationary sources of air pollution, aggregate - 2018–2019
2018 | 2019 |
16 927 | 12 759 |
Pollutant emissions from stationary sources by volume, kilotons - 2017–2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Sulfur dioxide | 239 | 251 | 287 |
Nitrogen dioxide | 48 | 45 | 53 |
Suspended solid particulate | 121 | 121 | 122 |
Carbon monoxide | 169 | 149 | 158 |
Motor vehicles by fuel type, thousands of units - 2019
Fuel type | 2019 |
Petrol | 287 000 |
Diesel fuel | 20 700 |
Mixed | 10 300 |
Gas | 393 |
Electricity | 216 |
Motor vehicles, thousands of units - 2018-2019
Vehicle type | 2018 | 2019 |
Passenger cars | 287 | 283 |
Freight | 28 | 31 |
Air quality monitoring in the region is carried out at 12 fixed posts and seven automatic observation stations located in the cities of Karaganda, Balkhash, Zhezkazgan, Temirtau, and Saran.
In 2018-2019, Karaganda, Balkhash, Zhezkazgan, and Temirtau experienced high levels of pollution. In Saran, pollution levels were reduced from high levels of pollution in 2018 to low levels in 2019
Incidents of high levels of air pollution in the region - 2018-2019
City | 2018 | 2019 |
Karaganda | 144 | 56 |
Balkhash | 8 | 0 |
Zhezkazgan | 7 | 0 |
Temirtau | 2 | 61 |
In 2018, black snow fell in Temirtau, and Kazhydromet conducted an inspection determining the cause as excessive emissions of pollutants from the ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC. The company was fined 1.3 billion Tenge for the violation.
Plans are in place to connect 668 regional entities and 26 large enterprises to the central gas supply. The pipeline will ameliorate the environmental situation in the region and contribute to the quality of life of area residents.
In 2018, work began in the region on the construction of the Sary-Arka gas pipeline. The pipeline will equip the large regional towns for gasification, including the cities of Karaganda, Temirtau, Zhezkazgan, Satpayev, Saran, and Shakhtinsk and an additional 114 smaller settlements.
In 2018, the Council for Environmental Protection was created and a set of measures to improve the environmental situation was approved. They are involved in 57 separate actions, 25 of which have been completed, 32 are currently being undertaken and a further four are scheduled for 2022.
Domestic wastewater discharge in 2017–2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Volume – wastewater discharge – 1 000 m3 | 152,5 | 155,6 | 163,1 |
Volume – pollutant discharge - kt | 44,3 | 47 | 57,8 |
Domestic wastewater discharge in 2017–2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Volume – wastewater discharge – 1 000 m3 | 1 172,8 | 1 152,6 | 1 215,5 |
Volume – pollutant discharge - kt | 412,5 | 382 | 399,5 |
Major water bodies in the region: Lake Balkhash, the Samarkand, Kengir, Sherubainurinsk, and Toparsk Reservoirs, the Nura River and its tributaries - the Sarysu, Kara-Kengir, and Zhezdy.
Emergency and unauthorized wastewater discharges - 2017–2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Volume – wastewater discharge – 1 000 m3 | 2,4 | 3,1 | 3,5 |
Volume – pollutant discharge - kt | 0,8 | 3,8 | 10 |
Incidents of elevated pollution of oblast surface water resources - 2017-2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Sokyr River | 21 | 21 | 19 |
Sherubainura River | 21 | 23 | 18 |
Kara-Kengir River | 25 | 25 | 42 |
Sarysu River | 9 | 12 | 11 |
Nura River | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Kengir Reservoir | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Water quality monitoring is carried out on the Nura, Sherubainura, Sokyr, Kokpekty, Kara Kengir, and Sarysu rivers; the Samarkan and, Kengir reservoirs; the Satpayev Canal and Lake Balkhash.
Water quality – Surface bodies of Water in the Oblast - 2019
Body of water | Water classification | Characteristics |
Samarkand Reservoir
Kengir Reservoir |
> 3 classes | Non-standardized. Pollutants present in this water are not rated below Class 3 guidelines resulting in bodies of water not assignable to Classes 4 or 5 |
Nura River
Kokpekty River Lake Sholak Lake Esei Lake Sultankeldy Kokai Lake Satpayev Canal |
Grade 4 | Suitable only for irrigation and industrial use. Extensive treatment methods are required for household use and as drinking water. Not recommended for recreation and tourism use |
Sokyr River
Sherubainura River Sarysu River Kara-Kengir River Lake Balkhash |
> 5 class | Non-standardized class. Exceeds all class 5 guidelines. Lowest rated. |
The total oblast land area including district, regional and state lands amounts to 42.8 million hectares.
Distribution of land by category – thousands of hectares - 2017-2019
Category | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Agricultural land | 14 585 | 14 888 | 14 751 |
Residential land | 3 919 | 3 920 | 3 936 |
Land zoned for industrial, transport, communications, defense, and other non-agricultural purposes | 235 | 199 | 215 |
Protected nature preserves | 550 | 550 | 551 |
Forestland | 204,3 | 204,2 | 204,1 |
Surface water lands | 55,6 | 55,7 | 63,6 |
Undesignated Reserve Land | 16 096 | 16 396 | 16 119 |
The primary source of soil pollutants is waste materials from the mining and metallurgical industries. Annual monitoring of polluted and disturbed lands is carried out for reclamation. In 2019, the area of reclaimed land amounted to 0.65 thousand hectares.
Soil heavy metal pollutant m onitoring is carried out in spring and autumn in four cities of the oblast: Balkhash, Zhezkazgan, Karaganda, and Temirtau.
Excessive heavy metal concentrations in soil samples, mg/kg
City | Zinc (MPC23 mg/kg) | Copper (MPC 3 mg/kg) | Chromium (MPC 6 mg/kg) | Lead (MPC 32 mg/kg) |
Karaganda | 25,4 | 4,11 | 1 | 28,6 |
Zhezkazgan | 224,5 | 84,6 | 4,1 | 310,2 |
Balkhash | 326,8 | 149,2 | 10,2 | 926,2 |
Temirtau | 29,6 | 4,15 | 3,1 | 44,6 |
In 2018, in connection with the failed launch of a Soyuz-FG rocket near Zhezkazgan a nine m2 patch of land with a volume of 37-39 m3 were contaminated. The soil was transported to a specialized site for safe storage.
In 2018, more than 25,000 hectares of land were seized for land-use violations, including 22,000 hectares of agricultural land and 3,000 hectares of residential land in settlements.
In 2018-2019, over 200 companies were engaged in the exploration and production of minerals in the oblast.
There are 13 protected national and five regional natural reserves in the oblast covering a total area of 529.9 hectares.
The following steps were taken in order to establish and
preserve a unique plant collection at Zhezkazgan Botanical
Garden:
• pruning dry, diseased tree branches, tilling the soil against
invasive weeds;
• planned agrotechnical measures include the weeding,
fertilization, watering, and seed collection;
• replenishment of plant stock; compilation of a preliminary
list of floral and woody shrub species traditional to central
Kazakhstan, but not currently widely established in regional
urban areas;
• full inventory of the garden's collection.
Reginal forest fires - 2017–2019
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Number of fires | 16 | 5 | 32 |
Territory damaged by fires, hectares | 2 044 | 1,06 | 2 836 |
11 tourist routes of 758.8 kilometers in length have been approved in Karkaraly National Park; a natural history museum operates in the park.
State forestlands in the oblast total 614,700 hectares.
Regional forestry preservation activities - 2017–2019
Activity | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Forestation (seeding), Hectares | 435,3 | 419 | 431,2 |
Forest management, Hectares | 5 252 | 5 776 | 5 890,5 |
Soil preparation for seeding, Hectares | 383 | 383 | 431,2 |
Nursery seed harvesting, Hectares | 4,98 | 4,2 | 6,65 |
Cultivation of planting materials, Thousands | 1 610 | 1 752 | 1 803 |
Mineralized strip maintenance, Kilometers | 4 895 | 4 996 | 4 990,4 |
Mineralized strip installation, Kilometers | 47,6 | 32,3 | 42,3 |
Timber harvest, Hectares | 72,24 | - | 272,7 |
Regional Designated Hunting Area - 2017-2018
Year | Area (hectares) |
2017 | 35 033 |
2018 | 34 650 |
2019 | 36 479 |
Biogas plants with a total capacity of about 2 MW operate in the village of Kurminskoye and near the city of Karaganda on the territory of Volynsky Agro- Industrial Complex LLP.
A segment of the population of the region lives within the boundaries of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. The regional Akimat and the state enterprise National Nuclear Center RSE undertake initiatives to safeguard the local population
Solid household waste generation and processing – kilotons - 2018-2019
More than 10 million tons of household waste had accumulated at landfills in the region in 2019. Of the 202 landfills located in the region 50 are licensed.
Category | 2018 | 2019 |
Volume of generated waste, kilotons | 651,3 | 600 |
Percentage of generated waste sorted & recycled | 26 | 16,4 |
80% of the urban population and 53.9% of the rural population are provided with household waste disposal services. 27 designated firms manage regional waste collection and transport.
The cities of Karaganda and Temirtau operate three waste sorting facilities: Karaganda GorKomTrans; TTK, which handles 90K tons of waste annually; and Recycling, with an annual capacity of 20K tons. Separate solid waste collection and sorting facilities have been established in a further 15 settlements in the oblast.
In excess of 7 billion tons of industrial waste accumulated in the region in 2019.
Indicator/year | 2018 | 2019 |
Accumulated industrial waste, billions of tons | 7,3 | 7,4 |
Industrial waste generated, millitons | 220,6 | 215,7 |
Of these, millions of tons for reuse, disposal, recycling, or transfer to designated facilities. | 99,2 | 94,1 |
The ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC steel department has a toxic waste storage facility covering 20 hectares and a chemical waste dump covering 9.2 hectares.
In 2019, four solar power plants were
opened in the region with a total generative
capacity of 200 MW
Saranand - 100 MW,
Gulshat - 40 MW,
Agadyr - 50 MW,
Kengir - 10 MW.
A mini-hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 0.6 MW operates at the Intumak Reservoir.
Renewable resource electricity generation with the region in 2018 amounted to 5.4 million kWh, and in 2019 to 176 million kWh.
By the close of 2020, six more renewable energy facilities
are set to be operational i
n the region, including:
• wind farm construction in the city of Karkaralinsk and the
village of Osakarovka with a total capacity of 160 MW;
• biogas plant construction in the village of Kurminskoye
with a capacity of 261 MW.
A critical environmental issue faced by the region is mercury deposits in the sediment of the Nura River and the collector on the closed Karbid, JSC industrial site in the city of Temirtau. In 2017, a program was developed for the construction of a unit for the neutralization and treatment of industrial wastewater which will allow wastewater treatment that meets established guidelines. Financing for the program has yet to be allocated.
The air of the region is heavily polluted by industrial enterprise emissions. To reduce pollution in the region, in 2019, 25 measures were undertaken.
As a result of the privatization, closure and liquidation of a number of coal mining enterprises, a significant part of the regional land resource has been heavily polluted and is in need of restoration
In 2004, more than 15,000 condensers containing the hazardous substance polychlorodefinyl were located at the Daryal-U radar station near the shore of Lake Balkhash. In 2014, the court designed the waste as abandoned and transferred it to republican ownership. Some of the condensers were removed and disposed of; 5,946 units and three waste containers remain at the site. In 2017, an inspection of the container integrity was undertaken in which air, soil, flooring, water, and lake sediment samples were collected.
The total surface water area in the region exceeds 470,000 hectares, covering over 400,000 hectares of national and international fisheries and over 50,000 hectares of regional fisheries.
Monitoring of radioactive gamma contamination of the surface layer of the atmosphere in the oblast was carried out daily at five meteorological stations in the cities of Balkhashe, Zhezkazgane, Karagandae, Korneyevke, the Rodnikovsk Reservoir and at two automated posts - Karaganda and Temirtau. Measurements reveal that the average values of the gamma background, gamma emissions and radioactive fallout in both 2018 and 2019 were within normal limits.