In Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, there are factories and business establishments around the city that handle leather, wool, cashmere, meat processing, dairy products, alcohol, etc. Of these, wastewater from the leather, wool, and cashmere factories is treated at the primary treatment plant at Khariga Factory before being discharged to the central sewage treatment plant. The wastewater from the leather, wool, and cashmere mills is discharged to the central sewage treatment plant. However, the current situation is that wastewater with higher concentrations of heavy metals than the primary treatment plant is capable of treating is flowing into the plant and discharging into the central sewage treatment plant without being properly treated. In addition, food processing plants and alcohol factories, which do not have separate wastewater pretreatment facilities, are also discharging highly concentrated wastewater, and the treated water at the central sewage treatment plant does not meet the country’s wastewater standards. In response to this situation, the government has established a working group consisting of relevant ministries and agencies, made it mandatory for each factory to install wastewater pretreatment facilities, and established laws regarding penalties for violators, etc., in order to properly assess the pollution load of sewage entering the central sewage treatment plant and to improve the system for the installation and operation of wastewater pretreatment facilities in each factory. The plan sets out to improve the institutional side of the system. However, due in part to a lack of experience on the part of the government in factory effluent and treatment technologies and measures, these measures have not been adequately addressed, and the challenge is to strengthen administrative capacity for proper management of factory effluent and compliance with regulations.
This cooperation will review and improve policies, regulations, institutions, and monitoring systems related to factory effluent, promote understanding of the need for factory effluent countermeasures among administrative agencies and businesses, and raise awareness of the need for appropriate treatment of factory effluent, thereby contributing to the creation of a system for proper management and regulatory compliance of factory effluent. This will contribute to the reduction of the pollution load of factory wastewater, environmental pollution, and health hazards.
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