TITLE:
Ecological State of Soil Cover and Surface Water in the Natural and Technological Environment of Kyzyl-Zhar (Kyrgyz Republic)
AUTHORS:
Bekmaman M. Djenbaev, Zinagul A. Dzhamanbaeva, Kaliskan Imatali Kazi, Ainagul A. Zhalilova, Aisulyy Berdibaaeva, Aigul V. Kenzhebaeva, Baktiar T. Zholboldiev
KEYWORDS:
Uranium Province, Soil, Pollution, Chemical Elements
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.14 No.5,
May
19,
2026
ABSTRACT: The article presents the results of a current environmental assessment of the soil cover and surface water in the natural and man-made uranium province of Kyzyl-Zhar. Surface water in the Mailuu-Sai River is characterized by relatively high levels of mineralization, hardness, dry matter, sulfates, and chlorides. The pH level is 7.5, which is considered within normal limits. The results of measuring the chemical composition of water by quantitative mass spectrometric analysis (ICP) of 23 chemical elements in water showed a slight increase compared to the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of the following chemical elements: Ba, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Pb, Se, U and F. Of these, the maximum permissible concentrations of chemical elements are: Mo, Mn and F, increased from 5 to 10 times, which requires special attention. In the studied streams, the zoobenthos is qualitatively quite poor. Aquatic invertebrates are represented only by benthic organisms and require in-depth hydrobiological analysis. The soil cover of the former uranium mine in the village of Kyzyl-Zhar is classified as Turanian gray earth soil, fine-grained in thickness, and medium in rock content. Humus content is low-quality, ranging from 50 to 140.0 t/ha. The results of spectral analysis showed that most chemical elements have low concentrations in relation to MРC and clarke, Mn, Mo, W, Zr, Nb, In, Pb and Ag, and the following elements such as Ni, Ti, V, Cr, Cu and Y are at the background level or slightly high, but in areas they have different concentrations and differ by 2 - 4 times. The level of oil products in water varies depending on the distance of the pollution source, except for the concentration in the river, and can fluctuate from 138 to 468 mg/l, which indicates a fairly high content of oil products, sometimes, the increase is hundreds of times (MPC 0.3 mg/dm3). Based on the soil cover, the area contaminated with oil products is the western part of the mine. (SNKJ-1), 4820 mg/kg and the lowest concentration at point SNKJ-4 content is 1380 mg/kg, in relation to the MAC, it is increased from 2 to 5 times