Residents of Atyrau have been troubled by a pungent smell and haze over the city, forcing them to keep windows shut. The situation has sparked concern, and regional authorities have responded to the complaints, reports infohub.kz.
A resident of Atyrau, under the username _aidarownaa, posted on the social network Threads about the incident. She said she woke up at 5 a.m. to a sharp smell and, upon opening the window, was frightened by the haze. "Windows are closed, but the smell is felt at home; I can't imagine what it's like outside. Are they poisoning us while we sleep?!" the Kazakh woman wrote.
The official Telegram channel of the Atyrau regional akimat, in response to citizens' complaints, reported inspections at the Atyrau Oil Refinery (ANPZ). "After elevated levels of pollutants in the atmospheric air were recorded on the night of September 6, the akim of Atyrau region, Bolat Akchulakov, ordered relevant services to conduct an inspection in accordance with the approved algorithm for responding to environmental deterioration. Specialists from the sanitary-epidemiological control department carried out additional measurements and examination of potential sources of emissions," the statement said.
As part of the inspection, the regional akim visited the evaporation fields "Tukhlaia Balka" and the steaming station of the ANPZ, familiarizing himself with the current state of the facilities on site. In addition, an operational meeting was held with the participation of representatives of state bodies and the ANPZ, at which monitoring data, the current situation, and measures to determine the causes of air quality deterioration were discussed.
The head of the region instructed to prepare proposals for creating a regional air quality monitoring system, indicating the necessary funding, technical parameters, and implementation timelines, as well as to ensure a comprehensive and objective inspection of all possible sources of pollution. Additional information will be provided following the inspection, the akimat concluded.