In a bid to gauge the extent of radioactive contamination in Mongolia, Ryoko Imaoka, an associate professor of Mongolian studies at Osaka University, has been supplying used cameras to herders so they can document the frequency of deformed livestock, which appears to be on the increase, particularly near uranium mines.“With the transition to a market-based economy rapidly in progress, environmental pollution is becoming a serious problem,” said Imaoka, 51. “When eating their livestock, nothing goes to waste--even the last drop of blood. That is Mongolian culture. (The disposal of nuclear waste there) would definitely affect the people.”
A French-Mongolian joint venture started experimental drilling three years ago in southern Mongolia in the search for uranium. Shortly thereafter, increased reports of deformities and birth defects in livestock near the area started to appear.Even though the correlation between mining and the deformities is yet to be proven, reports have included the birth of two-headed lambs and blind camels. Other animals are also suffering from skin ulcers and blood clots in their bodies. Imaoka is translating a Japanese booklet into Mongolian on how to protect children from radiation exposure.
While Imaoka was in junior high school, a television drama depicting the life of Chinggis Khaan first sparked her interest in Mongolia. She later studied Mongolian at university, which led her to specialize in topography.Visiting the Gobi Desert every year, she has witnessed how the lifestyle of the nomads has changed over the last two decades.Her Mongolian husband is a car mechanic. When welding in the desert he sometimes uses livestock dung for fuel, she said, adding, “Mongolians value the cycles of nature. They taught me that one is responsible for taking care of what one has made until the very end.” n