Partnership for Environmental Health

Georgia and Kazakhstan

Tackling Toxic Legacies

The Partnership for Environmental Health (PEH) is a collaborative initiative led by TerraGraphics International Foundation (TIFO), the Environmental Health and Pollution Management Institute (EHPMI), and government partners. Together, we are working to improve health outcomes for communities living in and around sites contaminated by heavy metals, including lead, mercury, and arsenic, due to past industrial activities.

Focus Areas

PEH is initially focusing on two high-risk cities:

Kutaisi in western Georgia
Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan

Both cities have extensive legacy contamination from decades of unregulated industrial operations. Thousands of people, especially children, live at high risk of chronic heavy metal exposure.

PEH is also considering future expansion in Ridder, East Kazakhstan, another area with known environmental health concerns.

Kutaisi, Georgia

Located on the banks of the Rioni River, the city of Kutaisi (population of 147,635) is home to the former Litafoni Factory. This factory produced industrial pigments, dyes, and chemicals from 1939 until its closure in 1990. Industrial waste was dumped directly along the riverbanks, where it has leached into soil, surface water, and potentially groundwater, especially during floods. The site sits dangerously close to residential neighborhoods.

Shymkent, Kazakhstan

With over 1.1 million residents, Shymkent is Kazakhstan’s third-largest city and was once the industrial heart of the Soviet Union’s lead and zinc production. From the 1930s to 2018, its massive smelting complex processed ore from across the country, producing 70% of the Soviet Union’s lead at its peak.

Over 80 years of smelting has left behind widespread lead dust contamination across vast areas, including homes, schools, and public spaces

Project Goals

The Partnership for Environmental Health aims to:

Engage local and national governments in tackling legacy contamination.

Assess the extent and depth of heavy metal contamination in soils (starting in Kutaisi).

Estimate cleanup costs and develop remediation strategies.

Propose targeted environmental health interventions.

Raise national and international awareness to secure funding for long-term solutions.

How We’re Doing It

Our approach blends scientific rigor with local collaboration.

Establish regular coordination between TIFO, EHPMI, and government partners.

Co-develop an environmental sampling plan for May–June 2025.

Conduct soil and environmental sampling to define both horizontal and vertical contamination.

Develop detailed cost estimates for soil and site remediation and community-level public health programs.

Support local authorities in presenting findings and intervention proposals to national ministries, stakeholders, and potential donors.

Explaining XRF data - environmental health

PEH project partners Petr Sharov (far left) and Casey Bartrem (far right) demonstrate how to use a handheld XRF for soil assessment at a lead-contaminated playground in Shymkent, KZ.

Measuring depth of soil samples - environmental health

Contamination in Shymkent is highly variable by depth, requiring sampling teams to assess soil lead concentrations at multiple depths to understand both risk and cleanup needs.

Recording XRF data in Shymkent, Kazakhstan - environmental health

Soil contamination data obtained from a handheld XRF is recorded on both paper forms and digital survey tools to ensure rigorous data quality.

Casey presenting initial assessment data to Government and community officials - environmental health

TIFO ED Dr. Casey Bartrem presents on childhood lead poisoning risks to a group from the Southern Kazakhstan Medical Academy in Shymkent, KZ.

Industrial area in Kutaisi, Georgia - environmental health

Various abandoned industries surround the Litafoni site. Kutaisi residents pass through these areas daily, and they are used both as informal dumping grounds as well as play areas by children.

Collecting XRF data at old industrial site in Kutaisi, Georgia - environmental health

PEH sampling team assessing surface soil contamination in the vegetated area surrounding the Litafoni site.

Sifting soil samples in Kutaisi, Georgia - environmental health

Soil samples collected from the Litafoni site were sieved to select for small particles that present the greatest risk to human exposure.

Organizing soil samples in Kutaisi, Georgia - environmental health

In addition to gathering real-time data from XRF testing, soil samples were collected for laboratory analysis and XRF verification.

River running through industrial area in Kutaisi, Georgia - environmental health

The Litafoni site sits directly adjacent to the Rioni River, posing significant risk of highly hazardous wastes being distributed downstream.

Early Progress and Long-Term Impact

EHPMI has already conducted preliminary environmental screening in both Kutaisi and Shymkent. PEH partners have built on this foundation, launching a coordinated environmental and health assessment. This will provide the groundwork for communities, governments, and donors to take meaningful steps toward restoring safe, healthy environments.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

1Stronger government engagement and leadership in addressing legacy contamination.

2Increased community and stakeholder awareness of health risks and solutions.

3Enhanced capacity of local and national partners to assess contamination and lead response efforts.

4Reduced exposures to heavy metals.

A Vision for Clean, Healthy Communities

The Partnership for Environmental Health is not just a research project. It’s a collaboration for mobilizing long-overdue action to protect public health and restore environments harmed by decades of pollution. By working hand-in-hand with governments, researchers, and communities, we are building a pathway toward sustainable cleanup and health equity in some of the world’s most impacted industrial cities.