Mark Krushelnycky

Ukraine is a country abundant in natural wealth with plenty of arable land. However, exploitation of its natural resources has resulted in immense industrial pollution. This, coupled with a disregard for sustainable development and a declining economy, has left many regions of the country in a state of ecological crisis. Some of the regions most affected by pollution are the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts and the Dnipro river basin.

The Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts are the most industrialized areas in the country. They are inhabited by over 5,000 different enterprises from the mining, chemical, machine-building, fuel, and energy sectors. Such a highly concentrated area of industrial development has to do with the fact the region possesses some of the world’s largest reserves of iron and mangenese ores, as well as coal and other resources1. The region is extensively mined, an endeavour requiring substantial energy and machinery, which in turn produce exceedingly high levels of pollution. The ecological condition of the region is extremely poor as the soils, atmosphere, and water have been found to contain an assortment of pollutants including heavy metals, organic compounds, and radionuclides. Tissue samples drawn from plants and the few animals that still inhabit the territory have been found to contain high levels of the same pollutants. The landscapes including the natural chemical/ biological composition of the region has ultimately been transformed by industrial development. In the Dnipropetrovsk region alone only 0.8% of the area remain natural ecosystems2.

The main sources of pollution in these regions are from the metallurgy and energy industries, which account for 38% and 32% of the total air pollution from stationary sources3. The metallurgy industry is estimated to generate approximately 530,000 tonnes of emissions each year, consisting of ash, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds4. The power stations in the district emit around 250,000 tonnes a year of the same pollutants5. In Ukraine, 70% of electrical power is generated by burning low-grade fossil fuels, which only serves to enhance the pollution6. Plant technology and equipment is often obsolete and only rarely equipped with devices to control emissions, a consequence of the country’s poor economy.

The chemical industries are another source of air pollution in the region. Though not producing as much pollution as the industries mentioned above, however, the emissions are different and considered highly toxic and carcinogenic. Some of the substances occuring in the emmissions resulting from industrial chemical processes include benzo-pyrene, ammonia, and formaldehyde. The chemical industries have also been responsible for contaminating ground and surface waters in the area.

One issue that plagues the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts is the accumulation and storage of industial waste. The country consumes 1.5 billion tonnes of natural resources per year, and the majority is returned to the environment as waste7. The two oblasts receive around 17 million tonnes per year, of which 4.5 million is exteremly hazardous8. The recycling of waste materials has decreased in recent years largely due to the depressed economy. Storage of radioactive waste is a significant problem. Significant amounts of radioactive waste are being generated by various industrial, medical, agricultural, and scientific applications. A number of the nuclear power plants in the region contain large amounts of nuclear material used for weapons that had been abandoned by the Soviet military after Ukraine’s independence in 19919. In addition, the country has become a nuclear waste dump for much of Europe. This is often the result of officials claiming to have waste storage facilities who receive payment for storage when in fact they lack the necessary infastructure. The combination of inadequate border control and rampant government corruption allows this practice to continue. Again, the majority of the imported waste gets stored in the Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Another area in desperate need of sustainable development is the Dnipro river. The catchment area of the river covers almost half the country’s territory and supplies water to two-thirds of the population. The ecological condition of the river is exteremely poor. Many of the fish in the river have been found to contain high levels of heavy metals including mercury, lead, and copper. Studies have indicated a declining population of fish inhabiting the river. Samples of the sediment along the river bed show high levels of the same heavy metals found in the fish along with various organic pollutants. Long-living radionuclides such as cesium-137 and strontium-90 at dangerous levels have also been detected in the sediment, and in plant and fish tissue samples. In many regions, the water is considered unsafe for even recreational and agricultural use. The water level of the river has also decreased from intensive consumption resulting in the drainage of wetlands and aquifers leading to irreversible hydrological changes. The Black and Azov seas are also suffering the concequences of the pollution from the Dnipro as the river drains into both of them. It is estimated that that Black and Azov seas each receive 2 billion cubic metres of polluted water each year10. The result has been a decline in the fish population and sharply degraded environments surrounding the sea inlets. The Dnipro has been subjected to pollution from a number of sources including discharges of industrial waste, raw sewage, and agricultural run-off.

Agriculture is the second biggest polluter, affecting almost the entire river basin. Nearly 70% of Ukraine’s land is used for agriculture and the negative impact it has on the Dnipro River is primarily through irrigation and pes-ticide/fertilizer run-off. Large-scale irrigation has resulted in the drainage of many wetland areas especially in the Polissya region, where many natural ecosystems have completely collapsed. Massive ir-rigation has also transformed a huge river into a series of cascading reservoirs. Improper storage and misuse of pesticides and fertilizers have contaminated the Dnipro River – including ground water associated with the river. Recent data shows that Ukraine on average uses 71,000 tonnes of pesticides each year, or approximately 2.2 per hectare11. The world average is less than 0.5 kg/ha12. Not to mention the fact that many of pesticides used – including DDT – are banned in most parts of the world.

If these environmental issues aren’t dealt with immediately, the consequences will be catastrophic to Ukraine’s environment, leaving many regions unhabitable for any form of life. Recognizing Ukraine’s environmental crisis, several governmental and non-governmental organizations have been established and have taken the initiative to increase the public’s environmental awareness and implement programs to help restore and preserve the natural environment. The majority of environmental protection activities are carried out by Ukraine’s Ministry for Environmental Protection. Some of the small, but active non-governmental organizations include: the Ukrainian ecological association “Zeleny Svit” (Green World), the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine, the Ukrainian ecological academy, and the Green Party of Ukraine There has also been some international collaboration with neighbouring countries regarding the management and protection of the marine ecosystems in the Black Sea.

For more information concerning Ukraine’s environmental issues, legislation, or project proposals please visit www.freenet.kiev.ua:8080/ciesin/Activities/activ-co.htm

Notes

1 A Babiy et al, Journal of Hazardous Materials. A76 (2000) 59-70.

2 ibid, 59-70.

3 The State Of The Environment And Activities In Ukraine. Ministry of Environmental Protection of Ukraine 1992/93.

4 A Babiy et al., Journal of Hazardous Materials. A76 (2000) 59-70.

5 ibid, 59-70.

6 ibid, 59-70.

7 ibid, 59-70.

8 ibid 59-70.

9 The State Of The Environment And Activities In Ukraine. Ministry of Environmental Protection of Ukraine 1992/93

10 ibid

11 ibid

12 ibid

References

1 Hazardous materials in the environment of Dneprpetrovsk Region. A. Babiy et al., Journal of Hazardous Materials. A76 (2000) 59-70.

2 Monitoring of large scale contamination of the environment: The learning of Chernobyl.

D. Mascanzoni, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol 194, No2 (1995) 253-257.

3 Levels of cesium, mercury, and lead in fish and cesium in pond sediments in inhabited region of the Ukraine near Chernobyl. C. Jagoe et al., Environmental Pollution, Vol 98, No 2, (1997) 223-232.

4 The State of the Environment and Activities in Ukraine. A Report on the Environment by the Ministry for Environmental Protection of Ukraine. 1994. Elena Kuzmenko.

www.freenet.kiev.ua:8080/ciesin/Activities/activ-co.htm