No relocation for residents of Kazakh village experiencing fainting spells
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 20 January 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, No relocation for residents of Kazakh village experiencing fainting spells, 20 January 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54e1a3e824.html [accessed 19 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
January 20, 2015
By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
BERYOZOVKA, Kazakhstan – Kazakh Deputy Energy Minister Uzaqbai Qarabalin says residents of a village in western Kazakhstan who have experienced fainting spells will not be relocated.
Qarabalin visited the village on January 20 and told the residents that the village of Beryozovka cannot be relocated as it was not located close enough to a nearby large Qarashyghanaq oil field to qualify for the status of a zone of ecological disaster.
Some 90 people of Beryozovka's 1,300 residents have fainted for unexplained reasons since November 28.
Residents and local environmentalists say the fainting spells are caused by toxic gas from the oil field. They have urged authorities to relocate them.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Berdibek Saparbaev said air samples from Beryozovka and the village of Kalachi near an abandoned uranium mine in Kazakhstan's north, where residents have suffered somnolence, loss of memory, and hallucinations since March 2013, will be tested and sent to foreign medical institutions for analyses.
The government has pledged to relocate Kalachi residents by May.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
