Residents of the Topar settlement in the Karaganda region are suffering from toxic dust.
According to Informburo.kz, people claim that for the second month, in windy weather, the settlement has been covered in dust from the ash dump of the Topar State Regional Power Plant.
"They are covering the ash dump with soil, and grass will be grown there. The work will continue for three years. Previously, the ash was in pits and covered with water. But now they have drained these pits, and a 4-metre layer of ash is being blown about with every gust of wind," said a resident of the settlement, Lyudmila Klochkova.
Residents insist that in 30 years they have seen nothing like this in their native village. According to them, dust penetrates homes even through closed windows and doors, and is then difficult to wash out of clothes.
"The Department of Ecology conducts quarterly air sampling activities, and residents are not currently in any danger," said the settlement's mayor, Margulan Safarov.
For their part, representatives of the power plant say that a new section for storing waste is currently being built at the ash dump, and the old one will be redeveloped.
Meanwhile, medics noted that coal ash contains arsenic, lead and mercury, which can trigger the onset of oncological or neurological diseases.