Residents of Atyrau again complain of unbearable stench

Tengrinews.kz – Residents of the outskirts and suburbs of Atyrau have begun to massively complain about an unbearable rotten smell. This prompted an inspection of air quality. The results were shocking: instruments showed that in some places the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the air exceeded the norm by more than 30 times, Kazakh TV channel KTK reports.
The inspection was carried out by environmental specialists, and later their conclusions were confirmed by other experts. According to the regional Ecology Department, from 19 to 25 January monitoring was conducted according to schedule by Kazhydromet.

“They also recorded significant exceedances. In the area of Taskala village – 17 times higher, in the nearest area to the village – 15 times higher, and in the Khimposelok area an excess by a factor of 30 was detected,” said Erlan Yessenov, Deputy Head of the Ecology Department of Atyrau Region.

According to specialists, they carefully studied the situation and the terrain, took into account wind direction and concluded that the main suspect in releasing hydrogen sulfide into the air may be the Atyrau Oil Refinery (ANPZ).
City residents think the same. On social media, locals complain of headaches and deteriorating health.
The plant itself denies any involvement in air pollution.

“In Atyrau, apart from the plant, there are other sources of pollution. The competent authorities must determine exactly where the pollution is coming from. For our part, we analyze all indicators in the sanitary protection zone. And based on the results, a notice was issued stating that threshold values have not been exceeded,” said Moldir Borashova, lead engineer of the Environmental Protection Department of ANPZ.