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Where no Frogs Croak

January 16, 2006

Where no Frogs Croak

“They come here and say – I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that, but what they really do is take money and run away! Nobody is doing anything! They let us be poisoned; nobody cares about us for a bit” - an average inhabitant of the Bolnisi region is like a tape on repeat that one triggers with the slightest touch of the hand. Mention the quality of water in the river Mashavera or the nearby irrigation canal and all deep lurking associative frustrations and fears break loose into a waterfall of words. Strikingly, all stories are the same, whether brought over by emotive speech or the eye’s desolate silence.

The factual situation can be brought down to the following. In the 1970s the ‘Madneuli’ gold mining company was established in Kazreti in the Kvemo-Kartli region of Georgia. Its activities include the extraction of gold from the surrounding hills and its partial treatment before transport. As expected, the excavation and treatment processes involve the use of a large quantity of chemicals. While initially cleaning mechanisms and filters were established to limit pollution, their effectiveness deteriorated throughout the years due to the lack of maintenance. The disastrous state of these mechanisms has led to the inflow of more and more chemicals into the environment.

One look at the territory of the plant reveals a neat path of a light green-blue substance that slowly moves in the direction of the tiny river Kazretula which on its turn flows into the bigger Mashavera. At the same time there are pipes carelessly spitting out bright yellow water into the same direction. From the other side where the mining activities are unfolded, basins, whose water level is supposed to be regulated, overflow and little by little take chemical sediments with them, resulting in a magical composition of colorful streams. “As if these uncontrolled processes are not enough, the company regularly opens its floodgates to evacuate undesirable chemicals. This is mainly done at night or when it rains to attract less attention” – states one of the local representatives of the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN).

Where the frightingly colored Kazretula ends up in the Mashavera, the densely green river bank of the latter for some thirty meters gets transformed into a lifeless heap of yellowish stones. Further downstream, the main irrigation canal of the region takes its start. In August 2005 a combined group of German and Georgian scientists from various organizations conducted an expertise on heavy metals in the waters of the Kazretula, Mashavera and in the irrigation canal, comparing it to the maximum allowed pollution levels engrained in German legislation. According to the findings, and dependent on the distance from the source of pollution, the levels of copper (Cu) exceeded the maximum concentration 12 to 168 times, that of cadmium (Cd) 2.5 times, of zinc (Zn) 5 to 17 times. For irrigation purposes the maximum of Cu was exceeded by 10 to 40 times, Cd 1.2 to 3.4 and Zn 2.8 times. For the use as drinking water, the concentrations were found to exceed the maximum at least 33 times.

Throughout the years many other probes were taken and  reports written on the situation concerning the water. However, up to now no all-encompassing and multi disciplinary expertise has been held. This makes it difficult to rationally assess the real effects of the pollution on the population and environment. Inhabitants on their turn are quite sure – the water is highly toxic, fruits and vegetables poisonous, people suffer from unclassified diseases, malformed animals are born and yields and product quality is on the decrease. Although exaggeration and the ascription of all ills to one source is a well-known phenomenon, the high levels of chemical substances cannot possibly go without consequences.

Since the end of the Soviet era and independence not much, if anything, was done to improve the situation. In November 2005, the Stanton Equities Corporation (a British Russian company and subsidiary of a Russian investment group) won the tender for privatization. Although the privatization conditions held a general article on the compliance with environmental standards, in a country where the rule of law is so weak this does not say much. Even if rigorous action would be undertaken, the effects of decades of pollution are not easily done away with. According to the same representative of CENN, the river banks got so polluted throughout time that even if clean water would start flowing, it would require several years to rinse the banks from toxic sediments.       

Nicolai Pushkarev

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