Context in Kazakhstan
Ozone-depleting substances (ODS)
Kazakhstan ratified the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer on August 26, 1998, and as of today is the Party to all its amendments excluding the Kigali Amendment.
The country never produced any substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol. In 1998, the total ODS consumption (import from the Russian Federation) including methyl bromide and HCFC amounted 1,356.12 mt or 1,304.86 ODP tons, of which 1,079.87 OPD tons accounted for CFCs.
The volume of the country ODS bank is formed by refrigerators used by almost all enterprises and each of 4.8 mln households; so with at least one refrigerator per enterprise or household the total amount reaches approximately 5 mln units.
The annual volume of import and domestic production of refrigerators and air conditioners using CFC (before 2004) and HCFC (after 2004) is shown below.
| Year | Domestic production and import of CFC refrigerators, pcs |
Domestic production and import of CFC air conditioners, pcs |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 276,345 | 188,352 |
| 1992 | 269,367 | 167,549 |
| 1993 | 315,398 | 219,348 |
| 1994 | 423,987 | 156,982 |
| 1995 | 363,286 | 198,567 |
| 1996 | 301,356 | 230,763 |
| 1997 | 249,569 | 176,430 |
| 1998 | 357,254 | 134,671 |
| 1999 | 286,590 | 178,432 |
| 2000 | 356,871 | 201,651 |
| 2001 | 299,732 | 164,358 |
| 2002 | 337,485 | 176,439 |
| 2003 | 328,854 | 211,529 |
| 2004 | 367,432 | 189,034 |
| Year | Domestic production and import of HCFC refrigerators, pcs |
Domestic production and import of HCFC air conditioners, pcs |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 192,754 | 141,955 |
| 2006 | 604,169 | 246,593 |
| 2007 | 667,600 | 246,819 |
| 2008 | 367,686 | 169,618 |
| 2009 | 363,586 | 126,520 |
| 2010 | 315,187 | 199,702 |
| 2011 | 141,900 | 296,049 |
| 2012 | 172,751 | 371,525 |
| 2013 | 200,346 | 388,730 |
| 2014 | 125,667 | 176,225 |
The CFC bank forecast based on statistical data and preliminary estimates is 38.02 mln t СO2-eq.
Estimated CFCs in domestic refrigerators and air conditioners
| CFC-containing equipment | Units, mln | ODP tons 1991–2004 | T CO2eq, mln |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic refrigerators (CFC-12 and CFC-11) |
4.53 | 1,440 | 10.26 |
| Stationary air conditioners (CFC-12) | 2.59 | 2,590 | 27.76 |
| Total (estimated) | 7.12 | 4,030 | 38.02 |
Persistent organic pollutants (POP)
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants entered into force in Kazakhstan on July 2, 2008, after signing on May 22, 2001 and ratification on June 7, 2007.
The national implementation plan (NIP) for 20 years was based on the 2003 inventory and has four focal areas:
- obsolete and unwanted pesticides,
- PCB-containing equipment,
- PCB-containing wastes (dioxin and furan releases),
- other POP sources such as contaminated soils.
The country lacks the accurate data on the POP amount.
Estimated POP stockpiles
| POPs excluding PCBs, mt | Disposed POPs, mt | Ready for disposal POPs excluding PCBs, mt | Estimated obsolete pesticides, mt | Soil contaminated with POPs/obsolete pesticides, mt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1544 | 190 mt of obsolete pesticides and 0.5 mt of DDT landfilled in 2002 | 1544 | ~250,000 | No data available |
Approximately 10,000 mt of obsolete pesticides are stored in inadequate storage conditions at mostly unsuitable dilapidated warehouses.
Kazakhstan is the second among the countries with economy in transition by PCB-containing oils (980 mt) and PCB-contaminated soil (250,000 mt).
PCBs and PCB-containing equipment
| PCBs as reported by the last inventory | Decontaminated PCBs | Ready for disposal remaining PCBs |
|---|---|---|
| Transformers — 116 mt Capacitors — 56,000 pcs PCBs — 980 mt PCB-containing wastes — ~250,000 mt |
Burned: transformers — 80 mt, capacitors — 169 mt Disposed of abroad: capacitors — 10,052 pcs |
Capacitors — ~220 mt PCB — no data available |