Mongolia’s new ‘cleaner’ fuel may be poisoning the residents who burn it to heat homes
- Since residents started using the smokeless briquettes in October, there have been seven other deaths – mainly children, pregnant women, and the elderly
- Nearly 1,000 people have been hospitalised in Ulan Bator’s outer slum districts, prompting fears the fuel can cause carbon monoxide poisoning
Within hours of arriving, she and her parents both became breathless and nauseous. They desperately called for help – but by the time medics arrived Gerel, who was four months pregnant, was already dead.
The 29-year-old’s parents were using smokeless briquettes to warm their home for the first time that night: a government-issued fuel – made of coking coal from the southern Gobi region and washed coal powder – it has been linked to deaths and ill-health.
Since residents started using the briquettes in October, there have been seven other deaths – mainly children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Nearly 1,000 people have been hospitalised in Ulan Bator’s outer slum districts, prompting fears the fuel can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
Gerel’s grieving mother, Jargalsaikhan Mishigdorj, warned the fuel should be used with care.
“I have burned coal all of my life, we have never ever been suffocated,” she said.
