by Ms. T. Petrova

The Convention on trans-boundary transport of pollutants for long distances gave birth to the first list of POPs (App. 1).

The compounds in this list have a complex of physical, chemical and ecotoxicological properties which account for the high hazard they pose in the biosphere. Such properties are:

Uzbekistan today has no effective system of environmental monitoring over the content of super toxicants in environmental objects and pollution sources, there is no equipment, methodology or personnel for that.

Nevertheless, in the early 90-s the Middle-Asian Research Center of Glavgidromet carried out a comprehensive content assessment of polychlorinated diphenyls (PCD), viewed as "predecessors" of dioxins, with the aim of tracking the PCD migration between different ecosystem blocs.

That was a research study and one could agree or disagree with its methodology or choice of objects, but it proved the presence of PCDs in different ecosystem blocs.

Tashkent Region is the most industrially developed in Uzbekistan, so levels of such purely "anthropogenic" pollutants as PCDs are high there. In view of that presence of PCDs, Tashkent Region deserves special attention.

We grouped the results of environmental PCD content assessment into four categories by the degree of pollution:

Since the Uzbekistan State Service for monitoring the pollution of environmental objects was set up in 1977, continuous monitoring of residual COPs has been carried on at all stations.

COPs are detected both in soil and in surface waters and bed sediments.

HCCH concentrations in the surface waters of the republic demonstrate a general tendency to decreasing, at the exclusion of water reservoirs of the Aral coast and Bukhara oasis. In the recent 2-3 years no DDT has been detected in the surface waters (App. 3,4,5).

After it was prohibited to use aviation for pesticides spraying over farm fields, there arose the problem of what to do with the airfields. According to the State Specialized Analytical Control Inspectorate, there are 483 ex-airfields formerly belonging to agricultural aviation, 147 out of which were tested for residual COP soil contamination .The results show massive pollution with chlororganic pesticides (DDT, DDD, DDE). Soil pollution at the level of up to 1 MPC constituted 21%, from 1 to 20 MPC - 42%, from 20 to 100 MPC - 15% and higher than 100 MPC - 21.7% (App. 6).

Plus to COP pollution of soils, Republic of Uzbekistan has to face another problem - that of unused stocks of prohibited pesticides which are now outdated. The issue of their utilization was not easy for the young republic. This needed significant expenses, besides, the utilization methods were not environmentally safe. In 1993 at an inter-governmental meeting it was proposed to use the major part of the stocks (at the exclusion of DDT, amine salt and some others) for their original pesticide purpose. The government of the republic has already started measures to that effect. It has also been decided to process butyphos stocks into DEZ-1 preparation.

At present all the left over stocks of chlororganic pesticides prohibited in agriculture have been buried in landfills for toxic wastes, which are under strict control. Thus the republic has solved the problem of its left over stocks of pesticides.

But in place of the old (and well studied) pesticides there come new ones, biologically active against pests and plant diseases in extremely small dozes. But we know nothing of their possible delayed effect on animate nature, including man. And as man cannot do without chemicals in agriculture, his safety will depend on decisions taken now.

POPs recognize no boundaries. They present a global problem which asks for adequate solutions. No single country will be able to solve it on its own, and even if a policy of chemicals safe use is implemented, it will not solve all the problems.

Appendix 1

Short list of persistent organic pollutants – "POPs Black Dozen"

Appendix 2

Appendix 6

COP Pollution of Soil on the Territory of Former Agricultural Air-fields

of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Region Number of Pollution Level Max. Pollution

air-fields (in MPC) thous. MPC

total studied <1 1-20 >20 >100

1.Andizhan 29 6 - 3 1 3 35.1
2. Bukhara 20 6 1 2 1 2 1.0
3. Dzhizak 43 - - - - - -
4.Kashkardarya 51 5 2 3 2 - 0.0
5. Namangan 39 8 2 5 - 2 144.3
6. Navol 41 7 1 2 2 2 20.0
7. Samarkand 41 6 11 3 1 1 263.4
8. Syrdarya 45 34 9 13 5 7 30.8
9.Surkhandarya 51 7 - - - 7 73.0
10.Tashkent 28 20 8 10 1 1 1.2
11. Khoresm 26 26 1 13 8 4 23.8
12. Fergana 26 6 1 3 2 - 0.1
13. Kara-kalpak 36 16 7 5 - 4 11.8
republic

Total for the 483 147 31 62 22 32
republic

(%) 21.1 42.1 15.0 21.7