TRANSPOND. Transboundary monitoring and information system for radioactive contamination in the event of natural hazards. Subproject: Guideline development and benefit-sharing strategies for transboundary water and land management. Final report

A large amount of active or legacy uranium mining sites in Mailuu-Suu catchment were not properly rehabilitated and showed a quasi-continuous release of radioactive contamination into the local surface waters. This problem is particularly important in this seismically active area, because the landslides after multiple hazards (e.g. earthquake or strong rainfall events) generally lead to a sudden and strong input of radioactive pollutants into the rivers, further transport across the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border and towards the denser populated parts of the Fergana valley, adding a politically sensitive cross-border aspect to the existed environmental problems. The partner countries currently lack the technical, administrative and human resources for the characterization of the current and future effects of discharges and sudden releases from radioactive and non-radioactive mining and processing wastes, nor the resources to evaluate and assess findings at national and intergovernmental levels, and take mutually agreeable decisions on mitigation action and land-use restrictions. In charge of one of subprojects of TRANSPOND, Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal developed a transnational guideline for river basin monitoring, information exchange and management for natural risks associated with radioactive and toxic contamination from mining waste. The developed hydrological modellings could help the partner countries understanding the potential damages of multiple hazards and the spatial and temporal patterns of transport the floods and nuclides along river networks, and this could lead to the creation of the mitigation and management systems in the context of disaster preparedness and response plans from different levels (i.e. regional, national and local). Furthermore, the developed standards might enable the partner countries to build their own environmental monitoring systems to evaluate the impact of radioactive mining waste and contaminated areas, while using the services of the involved German companies and research institutions over the medium and long-term.