Truck accident begets cyanide spill

An accident involving a truck on its way to the Kumtor gold mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan is causing headaches for Cameco (CCO-T) and may lead to a lawsuit or criminal proceedings.

The truck, which was carrying granular sodium cyanide for use in Kumtor’s mill, overturned at the approach to a bridge over the Barskoon River, about 80 km from the mine. It landed at the edge of the river, whereupon three of the 20 containers aboard ruptured, spilling about 1.8 tonnes of sodium cyanide into the river.

The May 20 accident left the driver with a broken arm and ankle. Equipment dispatched from Kumtor and from a vehicle yard at Balychky pulled the truck out of the river in the late afternoon.

Water samples taken by Kumtor staff indicated that cyanide concentrations in the river returned to normal within half an hour of the truck’s removal, and that cyanide concentrations in the river had not exceeded the local regulatory level of 0.2 parts per million in drinking water. At Barskoon, 5 km down-river, local authorities shut down the town’s water supply from the river as a precaution. Kumtor staff also set up a line of monitoring stations down the Barskoon River, as far as Lake Issyk-Kul (a large saline lake).

The river is shallow and swift-flowing, and the contaminant plume was expected to disperse quickly. Cyanide dissolved in water also breaks down quickly on exposure to sunlight, and when the water is aerated.

Subsequent wire service reports on May 25, five days after the accident, said 240 people in Barskoon had suffered “light poisoning” and 16 people had been admitted to hospital. Cameco disputes the report, noting that cyanide is an acute poison whose effects appear within minutes of the exposure, not after several days.

Cyanide acts as an oxygen inhibitor in the blood, preventing cells from taking up oxygen from hemoglobin. Exposure to low concentrations may cause headaches and eye and skin irritation up to 24 hours later.

Elaine Kergoat, public affairs manager at Cameco, says the Kumtor operating company had said compensation would be paid for any effects of the spill, but “from everything we’ve been able to gather there, there is no evidence of impact of the spill, either on the environment or on the health of people.” She says Cameco would continue to try to verify reports of damage.

As is usual after mining-related spills, dead livestock and fish were reported found. Kyrgyzstan’s environment minister, Kulubek Bokonbayev, says the government, which owns two-thirds of the Kumtor operating company, would seek US$8.4 million for “damage to human health, moral damage, and damage from missed benefits.” Criminal charges are being pursued, but the reports do not specify whether a company or an individual is being charged, and, by presstime, Cameco had not received any notice of legal action.

Local officials have recommended that Lake Issyk-Kul be closed to fishing.

They have also restricted access to the lake, which is a major tourist destination.