During Soviet times, mining and processing operations in this area produced arsenic anhydride and metallic arsenic. Arsenic produced at Tsana was used in Georgia for pharmacology, agriculture, production of glass and crystal, and veterinary treatment; meanwhile white arsenic was exported to Russia. An assessment of the arsenic waste facilities in Tsana, and elsewhere in Georgia, was conducted in 2012 by the Dutch team of Witteveen+Bos Consulting engineers.
The team determined that the most appropriate option for managing the waste was on-site disposal/containment. Immediately after the flooding at Tsana 1 in 2013, and at the request of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection (MoENRP), the German Government dispatched an Analytical Task Force to conduct assessments and took samples at Tsana 1. The Task Force confirmed that no arsenic had spread as a result of the floods and also recommended proper on-site containment of arsenic wastes. However, Georgia lacks experience in the management of hazardous waste sites. In November 2013, the MoENRP sent a formal letter to the Office of the Coordinator of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, requesting assistance from the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC). In response to an immediate follow up by the ENVSEC, the OSCE, the Joint UNEP/ OCHA Environment Unit (JEU) and UNDP Georgia in close cooperation with the MoENRP agreed upon a project proposal to address immediate security threats at the three Tsana sites, and specifically to address waste management options and solutions for the area and to design appropriate waste containment structures. Subsequently, a technical mission, during the period 1-6 May 2014, was assembled to verify actual conditions on the ground, agree upon a remediation concept and to develop an implementation plan.
