People suffer from JSC “Navoiazot” air pollution

Joint-stock company “Navoiazot”, located in the city of Navoi, produces nitrogen fertilizers and other chemicals used in agriculture. Undoubtedly, the importance of this enterprise in the chemical industry of the country is great.

Allegedly, the toxic emissions released from this plant cause constant resentment and complaints from the population of Navoi and the territory adjacent to the plant.

In particular, Kun.uz receives many appeals on this issue from the locals.

People claim to have difficulty in breathing due to toxic emissions produced by the plant. Especially, in summer it becomes unbearable.

We asked whether any measures are being taken by relevant organizations of the region to solve this problem that has been worrying the population for several years.

According to the department of ecology and environmental protection of the Navoi region, they also receive a lot of calls from those who suffer from poisonous gas emitted by JSC “Navoiazot”. Relevant measures are being taken on this issue. In particular, as scheduled, every day at the set time of the day the sanitary laboratory of the plant takes air samples for analysis at the “Ayronchi” mahalla of the Karmana district and the regional administration building.

The regional hydrometeorology department, 24 hours a day, takes air samples of eight ingredients from three posts and analyzes them. Test results are regularly being sent to the office for further studying. As a result, it was found out that when the wind blows towards the city it brings inorganic dust, nitrous oxide and ammonia.

In such conditions, in order to preserve the natural composition of the air, the production departments of “Navoiazot” are warned, after which the transition to I-II-III regimes is carried out in the prescribed manner under adverse meteorological conditions. A plan of measures implemented in such conditions has been drawn up and agreed with the management.

Also, when receiving air samples on the territory of the 107th workshop and its analysis, the amount of chloride acid was 8 mg/m3, which is 1.6 times more than the allowed indicator (5 mg/m3).

The obtained results confirm the presence of an elevated concentration of pollutants in the air at the settlement territory.

According to management experts, the reason for the occurrence of this circumstance is related to the fact that due to the increase in air temperature, the wind speed has decreased, which has led to a decrease in dispersing poisonous gases.

Therefore, due to the sharp temperature increase on July 19 at the 140-substation owned by JSC “Navoiazot”, the transformer came to an emergency condition and was disconnected.

As a result, the fans and pumps were out of order, which led to the shedding of chloride acid from the cracks in the pipe of the 107th workshop, which is a complex for the production of hazardous liquid chlorine of 1-category, chlorine products and caustic soda. 

The abovementioned circumstances led to air pollution and residents’ complaints.

In July 2019, in order to reduce the amount of emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere due to an increase in air temperature, some industrial processes in the shops are temporarily stopped.

According to the JSC “Navoiazot” employee S. Nurnazarov, workers are provided with the necessary protective equipment. The food they eat also helps protect their health. Dairy products are issued to them regularly. The restoration of workers’ health is under constant surveillance. All of them undergo a medical examination once a year.

Representatives of the company assure that these problems will be eliminated with the launch of new projects.