Copper anomaly over the Caspian sea

Industrial development of the Caspian Sea is still ahead. And scientists already register in sea water an excess of maximum-permissible concentration of some types of metals.
For a few years Kazecoproekt LLP as per the order of the regional administration of natural resources and nature use is conducting the researches of a current state of the Caspian Sea and its fauna. The scientists studied sturgeon, seals, vobla (Caspian roach) and also the composition of sea water.
According to Kazecoproekt representative Askar KAMELOV, an ichthyologist, the studies showed a moderate water contamination rate of the Caspian Sea:
– The water was analyzed for the presence of oil products and metals: copper, nickel, lead and zinc. We haven’t identified them in the water apart from copper. The copper content exceeds the norm. And pollution exists not in the whole of the northeast part of the Caspian Sea, but it is present in a mosaic manner. We are preparing the maps reflecting  the current condition. Generally the pollution is found in the areas where the Ak Zhaik and Volga rivers flow into the Caspian Sea.
The biggest pollution is found in the bed sediments. The deeper we went, the more polluted was the bottom. The surface area is washed away by flowing water.
When asked about the level of pollution in the vicinity of Kashagan, Aktoty and Kairan, Askar Kamelov said that the results of those studies are currently under processing, as well as the materials of the studies conducted in the area of flooded old oil fields. 

By Laura SULEIMENOVA