Georgia: For the first time in the country, the Minister of Environment and Agriculture, Otar Shamugia, implemented a project of similar scale for hazardous waste. He also visited the area with Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti State Trustee Papuna Margvelidze.
“We are carrying out a significant project, the goal of which is to organize the areas contaminated with the waste of darishkhan fully. The project includes three phases, two of which are already completed – the area is completely insulated, and extensive work was carried out to install fencing, sewerage, and drainage. In the spring of next year, we will already begin the third phase of the project, which involves the construction of a special garbage disposal. I want to emphasize that a project of this scale, in terms of hazardous waste management, is being implemented for the first time in the country and once the work is completed, the area will be fully organized and safe,” Otar Shamugia said.
In Lentekhi municipality, there is a difficult ecological situation in the places where waste produced by the recycling of Madani, containing darishkhan, has existed since the 1990s. After mining-chemical plants in the area were closed, contaminated waste was left out of control in the open air.
As the State Commissioner of Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti, Papuna Margvelidze, noted, the Georgian government is implementing an important project for the region that will completely solve the problems of the local population for several decades.
On the initiative of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture, in coordination with the Government of Georgia and with the involvement of international and local experts, research and reports were prepared to establish waste storage.
To develop practical measures and then implement them, with the participation of experts and the public, a number of public consultations were held. Priorities for ensuring security measures were identified and priorities for implementing primary security measures were planned.
In the villages of Dzughareshi (site—Tsana 1) and Koruldashi (site—Tsana 3), contaminated areas were fenced, limiting humans’ and animals’ access to the dangerous area; the monolithic reinforced concrete embankment of the river Koruldashi, a water channel, and a lekari were completed.
Specifically, a 224-meter-long protective cliff was built to prevent the sarcophagus from washing away in floods, and a 350-meter-long reinforced concrete channel was made to protect the sarcophagus area from flooding and swamps.
The measures provided for the third stage of the project will be implemented in 2025: construction of a 50500 m3 sarcophagus, collection of waste containing darishkhan, and placement of it in sarcophagi.
