Sources and factors of man-induced environmental impacts: ► 1. Communications (railways, main motor roads oil and gas pipeline, power transmission lines, water and other pipelines, sewers); ► 2. Reclamation constructions (channels, irrigation systems, ponds, reservoirs); ► 3. Power generation facilities (heat power plants, hydroelectric power stations, nuclear power plants); ► 4. Nuclear industry facilities (nuclear testing areas sites of experimental explosions); ► 5. Metallurgical facilities; ► 6. Mining facilities (exploited largest-, large- and medium-sized deposits of ferrous, non-ferrous, rare and other metals, of oil, gas, and condensate of coal, oil shale, non metallic mineral resources, and construction materials); ► 7. Domestic and industrial wastes treatment facilities (domestic and industrial wastewater disposal fields, slime ponds mine and drainage water tanks, ash collectors, domestic and industrial dumping grounds, storage grounds for mineral fertilizers and pesticides, barren rock dumps, etc.); ► 8. Urbanization (depending on population number) and dimension of industrial production.

Environmental pollution, especially atmospheric pollution, is another urgent problem in Kazakhstan. In some big cities and industrial centers concentrations of some toxic substances, such as heavy metal dust, sulfur dioxide, carbon oxide, and some others, are greater by tens of time than maximum permissible concentrations.

The most acute situation is typical of the cities Taraz, Temirtau, Almaty, Oskemen, Shymkent, Balkash, and some others. Pollutant concentrations in these cities within a year are by 5 to 10 times greater than MPC.

► There are many environmental problems in Kazakhstan. One of the most acute is the problem of the Aral Sea basin. The excessive use of water resources of the Amudarya and the Syrdarya rivers resulted in a rapid shallowing and drying-up of the Aral Sea.

The significant shallowing threatens also Lake Balkash. Its western part can dry out completely while its eastern part can turn into saline lands.

Atmospheric air is significantly polluted in the regions, where mineral resources are exploited. Air pollution results also from spaceships launching at the Baikonur space center.

► The strain environmental situation has arose in the vicinity of nuclear testing ground in Semey. Ground tests of nuclear weapons has been held there from 1948 till 1964 followed by underground tests from 1964 till Testing of nuclear weapons has caused negative effect on the environment and population health in this region.

In Kazakhstan there is a number of factors which form radio-ecological conditions: - Activity of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground; - The nuclear explosions executed for the solution of economic problems; - The enterprises of an atomic-industrial complex; - Extraction and processing of polymetallic ores, oil and gas that increase radioactivity.