17% of UB soil highly contaminated
According to Resolution No. 66 of the Citizens’ Representative Khural of the Capital City, April 27 of every year was declared as the soil protection day. Since 2017, on the occasion of this day, there has been a tradition of events and activities related to soil protection. This time, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and related departments focused on creating habits and routines for teenagers and children to prevent soil pollution, and improving their knowledge about the importance of healthy soil, pollution, degradation and its effects. In order to increase the participation of the public, children and young people in the prevention and reduction of soil pollution, 45 secondary school students were trained in methods of reducing soil pollution by planting plants that accumulate heavy metals and neutralizing inorganic pollution with plants. Also, a tree planting competition was announced among the students.
Moreover, as of last year, over 80 percent of the soil in Ulaanbaatar City was contaminated, and abundant bacteria, mold, and fungi were found in the ger districts. There are 144,992 pit latrines, 28 cemeteries, and six centralized landfills that cause bacterial pollution in the soil, while there are 34 tanneries, 589 automobile service centers, and 203 shopping centers that are the sources of heavy metal pollution.
Tanneries and automobile services allow chemical and heavy metal-containing oils to penetrate the air, and market centers dispose of hazardous waste together with normal waste, creating conditions for heavy metal pollution. According to the soil survey conducted at 407 points by the Environmental Department of the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar in 2023, 17.6 percent of the territory of Ulaanbaatar City is highly polluted, 30.1 percent is moderately polluted, 32.8 percent is lightly polluted, and 19.5 percent is not polluted. Bacterial contamination was detected in 78.1 percent of the sampled points, with higher results in pit latrines, cemeteries, and centralized and secondary landfills. The places with high levels of bacterial contamination include the cemetery in Chingeltei District, Gandantegchinlen Monastery in Bayangol District, and the Altan-Ulgii cemetery in Bayanzurkh District.
In 2024, it is planned to reduce bacterial pollution in 10 hectares and disinfect 2,000 sanitary facilities in the green zone. As part of the policy to reduce soil pollution, the “Procedures for establishing soil quality improvement zones in Ulaanbaatar” were approved by Order No. A/615 of the Minister of Environment and Tourism dating December 4, 2023. According to this procedure, it is divided into three zones: prohibition, restriction, and replacement. In the prohibition zone, the law prohibits the construction of pit latrines and sanitary facilities, other than approved, all activities that adversely affect the quality of the soil.
Pollution spreads the most in a radius of 10-12 meters around pit toilets. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the pit latrines of households in ger districts and the sanitary facilities of commercial and service with one which meets the standards. Furthermore, in 20202023, 13,032 pit latrines were renovated with state, capital and local budget funds.
According to the order of the Governor of the Capital City A/367 of 2024, when conducting the inspection, based on the data of violations and the results of the inspection, there are a total of 140 citizens and enterprises that have polluted the environment and soil, and created garbage dumps, therefore recommendations and notices were given to 68 citizens and enterprises, and 72 violations were removed on the spot.