Citizens Council on Environment urges fair decision

The incident where 22 calves died with no reasonable explanation in Ulaanbadrakh sum in Dornogovi aimag late last year sparked public debate. The Central Geological Laboratory, the State Central Veterinary and the Sanitary Laboratory determined the reason behind the sudden death of the calves in Dornogovi aimag. It was found that the deaths were caused by heavy metal poisoning.

Because of this members of the Citizens` Council on Mongolian Environment held a press conference on Tuesday March 26th.

During the press conference the chairman of the Auditorial Committee of the Citizens` Council on Environment, N.Ganbaatar, said “Scientists confirmed that the cattle were poisoned and had been affected by radioactive uranium exploration in Dornogovi aimag by Areva SA"s Mongolia subsidiary, Kojegobi Co. The mining company also affirmed the cause.

The Administration of Ulaanbadrakh sum reached a decision to evacuate local herders from their pastures in the area.

But the working group established by the Government of Mongolia has conducted testing samples numerous times and every time the results have been differed. The working group hesitated to report on the testing and failed to announce the possibility of radioactivity. This means Mongolia has already had a radioactive waste incident.

That the Mongolian Nuclear Energy Authority fails to monitor the issue and keeps it in the dark is a sign that the Authority is being influenced by other powers.

But we still believe the working group will solve the issue fairly and punish the law breakers.”