The southern Urals is ridding itself of centuries of grime

24.10.2013 — Analysis

A plan has been put into action to eradicate two major environmental disturbances in the region.

Residents of Karabash and its environs now have a real chance to rid themselves of the pollution that has spewed forth from the local copper smelter over the course of its sixty years. A draft of a federal environmental program includes work to eradicate the aftermath of that business's operations. A plan is also incorporated into that document to eliminate a waste dump that is located practically in the center of Chelyabinsk.

Alexander Galichin, the minister for radiation and environmental safety in the Chelyabinsk region, spoke to RusBusinessNews about the work to improve the environmental situation in the southern Urals.

- Mr. Galichin, your region is almost the only one in Russia to have two sites included simultaneously in the state program. Why precisely were these two vulnerable spots chosen?

- When this federal targeted program - The 2014-2025 Elimination of Accumulated Environmental Damage - was created, the regional government petitioned to have 12 environmental-protection projects included that are needed in the southern Urals. Two of those were successfully defended before the advisory panel. The first was to move the Chelyabinsk city dump out of the residential zone, and the second was to eradicate the residual pollution in the Karabash urban district and to restore the land through which the Sak-Elga river flows. Incidentally, that river carries its water to the Argazinskoe reservoir, which is the main source of drinking water for the regional center and the surrounding areas.

- What type of work will be done at these sites, and what are the results you're hoping for?

- The Chelyabinsk dump is located within the city boundaries. It has officially existed since 1949, but prior to that had been operating for many years as an improvised disposal site. Back then, the regional center had different boundaries and the landfill was far from residential areas. But over the course of the next 60 years it became surrounded by high-rise buildings on almost all sides. During the implementation of this program within the framework of a federal targeted program, the dump will be subjected to a series of technical and health-related measures, after which this area will become "greenfield land."

In exchange for the dump that will be removed, the city will get a modern, environmentally safe landfill, which will be located outside the city's boundaries. The regional budget has allocated 14.5 million rubles for its design.

In regard to the elimination of the accumulated environmental damage near the Karabash copper-smelting plant, work is scheduled to clean up the land through which the Sak-Elga river flows. The goal is to prevent pollutants from draining into the Argazinskoe reservoir. In 2013, the regional budget allocated 16 million rubles to design facilities that will block contaminated runoff from entering that tank. A federal targeted program will pay for the construction of those facilities.

Under the state program, there are plans to allocate a total of more than a billion rubles from the federal budget in order to implement the measures designed for the Chelyabinsk dump and Karabash, in addition to approximately 250 million rubles from the regional coffers.

I should point out that for almost a century - until it closed in 1985 - the Karabash copper smelter operated without taking any environmental requirements into consideration. The new company, Karabashmed CJSC, has reduced its impact on the environment many times over. However, the city is now the heir to the pollution in the area that has accumulated over the course of so many years, and that contamination continues to endanger the Argazinskoye reservoir.

- What will happen with the problematic sites in the Chelyabinsk region that are not included in the federal targeted program?

- Naturally we'll work with them at the regional level. In addition, subsequent phases of the federal program will examine the possibility of pursuing projects to eliminate accumulated environmental damage.

- Currently the region is pretty actively bringing in industrial waste for processing. Who would you say are some of the driving forces behind this movement?

- Work continues in the region to arrange for the selective collection, processing, and disposal of industrial and consumer waste. Currently Uralgrit, OJSC, and the Karabash Abrasive Plant, LLC are processing some of the metallurgical slag from Karabashmed, CJSC and turning it into abrasive powder. A lot of tire casings and rubber waste are also being brought in for processing. Brios-Plyus, LLC, Briz, LLC, the Chelyabinsk regional foundation Environmental Technologies, and also the private companies YAV-48/2 and YAV-48/9 are working in that sector. A number of businesses in the region are using recycled polyethylene, used oil and batteries, waste from the slaughter of livestock and poultry, chicken manure, and other substances as raw materials.

The administration of the town of Kopeysk has placed two types of containers in apartment courtyards and invited the city's residents to sort their garbage into food waste, as well as what’s called "recoverable resources" waste. The first category is taken to a landfill, and the second is sent away for processing. The experiment has already underway. In Chelyabinsk, boxes have been placed at the container sites to collect glass bottles, PET plastic packaging, and aluminum cans. Environmental containers have been stationed in some courtyards to collect recyclable waste, such as cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, and scrap metal.

- In terms of "legacy" environmental problems, the prevailing issue is the eradication of the aftermath of the disaster at Mayak. Is work on that continuing?

- Steps to eradicate the aftermath of the radiation accidents at the Mayak nuclear production facility are being carried out within the framework of specialized regional and federal environmental programs. The main efforts of the official agencies currently focus on measures to help the affected population recover. Some key areas can be identified there.

First is the development of utilities and road infrastructure (constructing roads, installing water lines, and providing towns with natural gas). Second is the recovery of the floodplain of the Techa river within the boundaries of the towns. A lot of work is being done to improve the living conditions of certain categories of the public. In 2013 in particular, 47 housing vouchers were distributed to the individuals.

Radiation in the area is constantly monitored and the public is informed about the results of the monitoring. It's important to note that radiation in the areas affected by the accident is now stable, and the population is not currently subject to a level in excess of the established limit.

Prepared by Andrei Gubanov