| TOWARDS
PRTR SYSTEMS IN THE NIS
By Olga A. Speranskaya, Eco-Accord
Center
Extensive industrial development of the USSR lead
to environmental pollution in many Newly Independent States. Some of the regions suffer
from nuclear contamination as well as chemical pollution. People's health is affected from
a variety of sources: nuclear industry, chemical enterprises, metallurgical plants,
incinerators, etc. Nuclear pollution and its influence on people's health are well
investigated; whereas our knowledge of chemical contamination, persistent organic
pollutants, and their health risks has many gaps.
Development and establishment of Pollutant release and
transfer registers (PRTRs) in the NIS is one of the important steps towards better
environmental situation in the region.
PRTRs are recognized as an important tool to raise
awareness about potential chemical risks and as an effective environmental management tool
to stimulate risk reduction. PRTR system will help to make information about the pollution
available to the public. This might lead to a reduction of emissions in the NIS as
experienced in other countries. While most environmental data collected by governmental
organisations have been obtained to serve governmental purposes, PRTRs support the right
of communities and individuals to know about toxic chemicals and other substances of
public interest.
There are so called “pilot countries” in the NIS where
the work on PRTRs has been launched. They are Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
By now progress has been made in Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Russia.
In Ukraine three pilot regions were identified and the
following regional workshops were organized jointly with the Institute of Occupational
Health, National Academy of Medical Sciences, and Ministry of the Environment and Natural
Resources and Ministry of Health: Cherkassy, Donetsk, and Dnepropetrovsk.
In Uzbekistan the National Workshop on Establishing PRTRs
was organized in Tashkent jointly with the State Committee for Nature Protection. The
following pilot regions were selected for further work: Fergana, Kashkadariya, Navoi and
Tashkent.
Further PRTR
Development In Russia
9 pilot regions have already declared their desire
to develop regional PRTRs. They are: Astrakhan region, Volgograd region, Perm,
Ekaterinburg, St.-Petersburg, Arkhangelsk region, Samara, Irkutsk, Cheliabinsk
This activity is coordinated by the Centre for
Implementation of International Projects (CIP), jointly with UNEP Chemicals with
participation of representatives of environmental and public health ministries and
agencies, and regional administrations. Special workshops have been organised to review
international experience of PRTR development, approaches to the national policies and
strategies of chemical pollution control in Russia, activities at regional level in pilot
regions. Representatives of prospective pilot regions informed the participants on status
of chemical pollution monitoring and problems experienced.
The meetings recommended:
acknowledge development of the Federal PRTR as a premature step and to
recommend UNEP to consider possibilities for expansion of the list of pilot RF regions for
development of regional PRTR;
support the initiative of PRTR development for other regions and invite
UNEP and CIP to consider possibilities for incorporation of these regions into the
framework of UNEP - CIP project on PRTR development;
apply to senior officials of RF Ministry for Public Health, RF Ministry
for Natural Resources, RF Committee for Hydrometeorology, administrations of pilot regions
with a request on support for development of regional PRTRs;
in order to harmonise and formalise PRTRs, to instruct UNEP, OECD, and
other international organisations which have vast experience in PRTR development to
facilitate preparation of methodological guidelines on PRTR development, with application
of relevant documents of international organisations and PRTR-related experience of
countries and pilot regions of Russia;
recommend the pilot regions to consider possibilities for development of
territorial environmental contamination maps, based at the PRTRs developed;
ask UNEP to consider possibilities for organisation of seminars for
senior officials of executive/legislative bodies of federal, regional and municipal levels
on PRTR awareness raising and capacity building
At present, the system of Pollutant Release and Transfer
Registers is under development in five regions of Russia. These regions are:
St.Petersburg; Volgograd city and Volgograd region; Perm town and Perm region; Astrahany
town and Astrahany region, and Arkhangelsk region.
St.Petersburg
-List of enterprises that were included in PRTR in
2000-2001 was compiled.
-Quantitative assessment of emission levels for air pollutants was prepared.
-Major sources of emissions were clarified (major sources of pollution: motor transport,
industrial enterprises)
-List of substances to be researched was compiled.
-The index of chemicals polluting the territory of the city was prepared.
Perm region
By now, a computer version of PRTR was developed.
It includes data on the emissions of harmful admixtures in the air and on sewages.
In addition, there have been developed a draft PRTR to
serve as a database for the calculation of possible impact zones of energy facilities.
It is suggested:
1. To harmonize PRTR of Perm region with analogous
structures in other regions;
2. To improve PRTR software and accompanying informational databases;
3. To prepare information as a basis to substantiate decision-making.
Volgograd region
1. Major point sources of emissions in the city of
Volgograd and in the town of Voljsky were determined.
2. Lists of chemicals polluting the atmosphere in the region and in the city of Volgograd
were compiled.
Point sources of emissions were primarily in focus. The
total air pollution input of enterprises that were under consideration is over 90% of
total emissions from point sources.
The emissions into the atmosphere from motor transport,
soil pollution by enterprises of ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical
industries, mechanical engineering, as well as pesticide pollution of soils were also
considered.
What is needed?
-Research is needed to determine priority environmental
pollutants, taking into account their behavior in the environment and possible impact on
humans.
-It is needed to perform calculations on risk management for the chronic impact of
chemical emissions of enterprises on health.
-Methodological recommendations on the development of PRTRs are needed.
A PRTR of agricultural lands was developed in one area in
the vicinity of Volgograd city and Voljsky town. The PRTR includes reporting on mineral
fertilizers, persistent organic pollutants, and heavy metals. Pesticides in
soil, plans, and vegetables are determined as well. It is proposed that reporting covers,
first of all, 2,4 D; mercury; and cobalt.
Volgograd city is a pilot one also because NGOs are very
active in establishing PRTR system. A leading role is played by Volgograd-ECOpress, which
has already initiated the development of a publicly available PRTR on chemical enterprise
called “KAUCHUK” which is the main polluter in the city.
Astrahany town and Astrahany region
Major point sources for pollutant emissions into the air
were determined.
List of chemicals polluting the atmosphere was compiled.
The descripion of pollutant emissions from mobile sources at major motorways of Astrahany
was prepared.
A comparative analysis of atmospheric pollution and children morbidity in 6 years was
prepared.
What is needed?
1. Priority pollutants of the environment should be
determined.
2. Rules on maximum allowed emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere should be fixed.
3. Research of transregional pollutant transfers is needed.
4. Identification of potential air pollutants in case of incidental soil pollution is
needed.
5. Risk assessment is needed.
What is done?
1.The volume of dangerous chemical emissions into the
atmosphere from municipal and agricultural enterprises was determined.
2. The volume of dangerous chemical emissions into the atmosphere by industrial
enterprises in Astrahany was determined.
3. List of enterprises for PRTR system was prepared.
Arkhangelsk region
What is done?
The most contaminated territories are identified
(Arkhangelsk, Nobodvinsk, Severodvinsk, Koriajmu). Air emissions were estimated to be more
than 200 kg per person per year.
Major point sources for pollutant emissions into the air
were determined (pulp and paper mills, heat electric power stations, construction
enterprises, transport).
List of chemicals polluting the atmosphere was compiled.
A comparative analysis of atmospheric pollution and
people’s health was prepared.
The need for PRTR in the region is connected with
following main issues:
increase in industrial production and its impact on the environment;
great amount and diversity of pollutants released;
absence of a proper approach towards collecting and analysing
information on pollutant release and transfer;
absence of a unified data base on sources of pollution;
great number of different sources of information on the quality of the
environment.
NGO Role in Establishing PRTR System
in the NIS
Different stakeholders may play important roles in
establishing PRTR systems in the NIS region. One of the key roles here belongs to NGOs.
At the International ECO Conference on the Aarhus
Convention in Brussels, Belgium on January 19-21, 2002, Declaration was adopted by NGO
representatives from 26 countries of the UN ECE region. Special paragraph in the
Declaration is devoted to PRTRs.
NGO representatives welcomed the commitment to produce a
legally binding protocol on PRTRs to Aarhus convention, open to any country to sign, and
noted that the development of a comprehensive PRTR is an important part of the public's
right-to-know about chemical management and pollution, and will contribute to pollution
prevention.
A delegation of environmental NGOs from Ukraine, Russia,
and Moldova took part in the negotiations during the last two years, and so we are well
aware of both the ambition and the limitations of the Protocol. But It is important to
make a start and the Protocol provides international momentum for this. And any country
can go further than the requirements of the Protocol – as for the parent Aarhus
Convention the Protocol provides minimum standards only.
On behalf of my organisation, Eco-Accord, I very much hope
that countries with existing knowledge and expertise will share their experiences and help
to support efforts in the NIS to establish PRTRs. We must understand that
countries with economies in transition, especially smaller ones, need assistance for the
implementation of the Protocol. It could be financial support and information
exchange; as well as support public awareness and training campaigns to encourage use of
PRTR data in the NIS.
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