For one ton of MGZ products, there are 1.5 tons of harmful waste - expert
The official environmental impact assessment of the waste generated by the production activities of Mykolaiv Alumina Refinery is practically non-existent, which conceals the harm it causes to people's health.
This was stated by Dmytro Mormul, head of the Association "Experts on Environmental Impact Assessment", during a round table "Presentation of the conclusions of the environmental expertise of the consequences of the operation of the MAR sludge storage facility".
"The sludge disposal site must be moved hundreds of kilometers away. That is, by and large, the owners must build a railway and arrange for the disposal of red sludge in a completely different place," the ecologist said.
He reported that for every ton of MAR products, 1.5 tons of sludge are produced.
"From an environmental point of view, the plant produces waste. That is, millions of tons of waste are imported to us from abroad, and they remain here. Now the third storage facility is being created, but the environmental impact assessment has not yet been carried out. Although without it, work cannot begin. If an assessment had been carried out, a landfill from Soviet times, which has been affecting the environment for decades, would have been found at this stage. But the fact that it was found during the work was kept silent until the environmental community drew attention to it," Mormul said.
He cited the example of Kalush in Ivano-Frankivsk region, where a similar Soviet-era landfill existed.
"As a result, the highest incidence of cancer in Western Ukraine is in Kalush. And this threat persisted until money was found to remove this waste," the expert added.
"A comprehensive independent expertise, a comprehensive environmental impact assessment is needed. The question of what kind of production this is needs to be raised. The question of why it is not considered dangerous. It is not about closing the production, our task is to determine the environmental impact, and if it turns out to be critical, take measures to eliminate this impact," summarized the head of the Association "Experts on Environmental Impact Assessment".
We remind that in November 2020, NGO "Stop Shlam" filed a lawsuit against Mykolaiv Alumina Refinery, demanding compensation of more than 9.2 billion hryvnias for moral damages due to environmental harm. The expertise of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice revealed a number of dangerous substances in the red mud waste of the plant, which have a negative impact on the natural environment, as well as human life and health. Arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, as well as elements of aluminum, boron, calcium, chromium, iron, manganese, magnesium, sulfur, antimony, tin, vanadium, strontium and silicon were found in the red mud, which can pose the greatest danger to people.
In May 2021, the court of first instance recognized the claim as legitimate and awarded residents of Mykolaiv 9.21 billion hryvnias in compensation. Now there will be an appeal hearing, which MGZ is going to file.