Two Metallurgical Plants Continue to Pollute the Air in Balkhash

Press Release

The small city of Balkhash, with a population of about 73,000 people, is one of Kazakhstan’s major centers of non-ferrous metallurgy. However, the city’s main industrial enterprises are causing serious environmental harm. Over the past 10 years, the city has experienced a “high” level of air pollution in 7 of those years, with only 2023 being rated as “low.” Yet even in 2023, there were 195 recorded cases of exceeding the maximum allowable concentration of harmful substances.

The city is located in the southern part of the Kazakh Uplands, on the shores of Lake Balkhash. It has a sharply continental climate and serves as one of the key centers of non-ferrous metallurgy in the country. 

The city-forming enterprise is the Balkhashsvetmet Production Association (formerly the Balkhash Mining and Metallurgical Plant). However, it is not the only source of pollution — the Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Plant JSC of the Kazakhmys Corporation also contributes significantly to the deterioration of the environment in the city and Lake Balkhash area.

Air quality monitoring in Balkhash is carried out at 4 stationary observation posts:  

- аt 3 posts, air samples are manually collected three times a day to measure 10 indicators: 1) suspended particles (dust); 2) sulfur dioxide; 3) nitrogen dioxide; 4) carbon monoxide, 5) nitrogen oxide. Heavy metals: 6) cadmium, 7) copper, 8) arsenic, 9) lead, 10) chromium;

- at 1 automatic air monitoring station, data on 4 indicators are recorded every 20 minutes: 1) nitrogen dioxide, 2) carbon monoxide, 3) nitrogen oxide, 4) ammonia.

Two indices are used to assess air quality: 

- Atmospheric Pollution Index (API) – an indicator that accounts for the concentrations of several key pollutants and their impact on human health. It uses average daily or annual concentrations to determine the level of chronic air pollution;

- Standard Index (SI) – an indicator calculated by dividing the highest single measured concentration of a pollutant by its maximum permissible concentration. It helps identify the most significant pollutant at a specific station or city and is used to assess short-term air contamination.

According to RSE “Kazhydromet”, the Air Pollution Index in 2015 and 2017 was rated as “elevated,” in 2016 and 2018–2020 as “high,” and in 2023 as “low.” However, according to the Standard Index, air pollution levels in 2021, 2022, and 2024 were assessed as “high.”.

In 2023, monitoring posts recorded 195 cases of exceeding the maximum allowable concentration of harmful substances, and 41 cases in 2024. The main pollutants include sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, and suspended particles (dust).

As previously reported, the Regional Ecological Summit is scheduled to be held in Astana from April 22 to 24, 2026, where the environmental challenges of the Central Asian countries and possible solutions will be discussed.