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The causes of soil pollution in Kazakhstan are industry, energy production, and motor vehicles. Nearly a billion tons of industrial waste, principal including toxic and radioactive waste, are generated annually, of which about 35% is recycled, with the rest buried in landfills resulting in soil contamination. Agriculture is the primary cause of soil degradation. By 2020, around 30 million hectares of the national land had been rendered erosion-prone, with nearly 60 million more hectares at risk if measures are not taken. Land resources In Kazakhstan, more than 29 million hectares of land are affected by erosion. Another 60 million hectares of land are at high risk of erosion if erosion control measures are not carried out. 3,419 enterprises and organizations within the country have distressed land on or adjacent to their territories. The bulk of the contaminated land is located in Atyrau Oblast — 59% 19% , — Aktobe Oblast W КО — , 13% Mangystau Oblast — 9% Between 5 and 6 million tons of annual household waste, of which only 5 percent is processed, also produce a negative impact on the land. Distressed land and hazardous soil contamination is also linked to mineral exploration and mining, including that emanating from uranium deposits. P etroleum products are the source of the greatest soil contamination affecting more than 190,000 hectares of land which have absorbed more than 5 million tons of spilled oil. The highest oil contamination concentration is near the Makat oil field. H eavy metals and petroleum product waste generated by the oil and gas extraction industries result in significant soil contamination. In addition, the extraction of non-ferrous metals and radioactive ore are also significant contributors to soil contamination. T he development of gold and polymetallic deposits has led to significant soil contamination by arsenic and heavy metals. I ndustry, particularly the mineral extraction and processing industries contribute to significant soil contamination. The largest sources of pollution are the Troitsk State power plant ash dumps of the Troitsk State District Power Plant and the tailings ponds of the Sokolov-Sarbai Mining and Processing Plant. W aste generated by the mining and metallurgical industries are the source of most soil pollutants. There are more than 350 landfills for the storage of industrial and household waste in the region. Excessive emissions from the Balkhash Mining and Metallurgical Plant have led to soil contamination by copper, zinc, cobalt, cadmium, and lead. S oil contamination results from by vehicle manufacturing plants, chemical production, coal mining, oil refining and waste stored in insufficiently secure storage facilities. T oxic waste landfills that fall short of established environmental standards have polluted the soil with a copper, zinc, cadmium, lead, and arsenic compound. The most polluted soils are found in the triangle between the cities of Ust- Kamenogorsk, Ridder and Altai. Pavlodar Oblast Karaganda Oblast Kyzylorda Oblast N КО Aktobe Oblast W КО Atyrau Oblast Mangystau Oblast E КО Kostanay Oblast