[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Centre]

Toxic dust blankets Aktobe: the AFP slag heaps pose a threat to all residents, 7 August 2025

Thousands of tons of toxic slag heaps from the Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant are located in the open air. An area the size of 140 football fields has been polluting the entire city with carcinogenic dust for years...

The scale of the slag dump is staggering. It even appears enormous in satellite images. The area where the plant's waste is located is 1 square kilometer, equivalent to 140 football fields...

The first to suffer from the dust and toxic substances are Aktobe residents from the districts of Vohra and Makhambetovka near the plant, the village of Orleu, and garden plots that have long since been converted into residential areas. The chromium fumes spread further, as scientists and environmental activists explain, and toxic dust envelops all of Aktobe.