To solve the environmental problem in Usolye-Sibirskoye, Irkutsk Oblast, it is necessary to mobilize the resources of all levels of government, as well as to attract the capabilities of the Ministry of Defense. This was stated by Vladimir Putin during a meeting on the environmental situation in the city, which was held by videoconference on July 30. The President noted that the storage facilities for chemical production wastes are now in an emergency condition and it is necessary to determine the procedure for long-term work to restore the damaged ecological environment. Rosprirodnadzor previously reported that in some places on the territory of the Usoliekhimprom enterprise, the permissible concentration of mercury was exceeded by 33 thousand times. According to experts, the problem as a whole is of a systemic nature, since with the collapse of the USSR many abandoned factories remained, and pollutants continue to penetrate into the environment.
Silenced the problem
The meeting on the environmental situation in Usolye-Sibirskoye was initiated by the Acting Governor of the Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev. At the beginning of the event, Vladimir Putin recalled that “the burden of environmental problems has been accumulating here for a very long time, since the 30s of the last century.”
– And now the situation is such that chemical production waste storage facilities are really in an emergency condition. To be honest, no one has ever really done this. Moreover, the problem, instead of being essentially solved, was actually hushed up, ”the president stressed.
According to him, it is necessary to determine the order of long-term work to restore the disturbed ecological environment. In addition, it is necessary to create conditions for sustainable socio-economic development of the city.
After the opening speech of the President, Igor Kobzev took the floor and tried to convey to the participants of the meeting the full scale of the problem. He recalled that an industrial site is located in the city, which was previously used by the Usoliekhimprom enterprise. The total area of the territory is over 600 hectares. There are over 400 industrial facilities here: shops, buildings, structures, ground and underground communications, collectors.
Despite the fact that Usoliekhimprom was a city-forming enterprise in Soviet times, its potential was not preserved, and attempts to modernize production failed. As a result, in 2010, the activities of “Usoliekhimprom” were terminated, a bankruptcy procedure was introduced, the head of the region specified.
– As a result of the stoppage of the enterprise, a significant part of the production waste was placed in underground tanks, containers, left in the buildings of workshops and auxiliary premises, he stressed. – All production facilities, including soil, groundwater, are impregnated with hazardous chemicals.
In February of this year, a regime was introduced to restrict access to the territory of “Usoliekhimprom”, and the building of the former shop of mercury electrolysis was entered into the state register of objects of accumulated environmental damage, Igor Kobzev added. According to him, the government of the Irkutsk region is making every effort to comprehensively address the issue of eliminating pollution. However, due to the current legislation in terms of the authority of the subject, the cleaning of the industrial zone is carried out locally and for a very long time, explained the acting governor. It will not be possible to completely eliminate the damage caused by Usoliekhimprom without the support of the federal center, Igor Kobzev admitted.
Nevertheless, after reclamation, new industrial facilities may appear on the territory of the former chemical plant, assured the acting governor. In particular, we are talking about enterprises of the machine-building complex, the production of charcoal, a plant for assembling elevators or the creation of a production for deep processing of quartz.
Make it in three months
Vladimir Putin agreed that the situation in the town of Usolye-Sibirskoye requires urgent and comprehensive measures. In this regard, the head of state ordered to urgently isolate the industrial site and ensure its protection by the Russian Guard. In addition, according to the President, in the coming days it is necessary to start work at the most dangerous facilities, which must be rendered harmless as a matter of priority. The Russian leader called for mobilizing the resources of all levels of government, as well as attracting the capabilities of the Ministry of Defense and the chemical defense troops.
– Quite a lot of money, but they will need to be directed there to solve these problems, because there is nothing more expensive than the life and health of people, – he stressed.
Vladimir Putin proposed creating an interdepartmental working group under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko, which will create and implement an action plan to neutralize and eliminate all accumulated waste and clean up contaminated areas in the city.
“I propose to assign the key role in organizing work on site, in finding optimal technological options for Rosatom,” the president said.
Vladimir Putin demanded when carrying out the work “to remember about people, about how and how their families live.” In addition, when creating new industries, it is necessary to actively provide jobs, primarily to local residents, the president said. The head of state stressed that he expects a report on the results of the implementation of the instructions for the first stage in three months.
Blow off the mercury
Earlier, the head of Rosprirodnadzor, Svetlana Radionova, told Izvestia that in some places on the territory of the Usoliekhimprom plant, an excess of the permissible concentration of mercury by 33 thousand times was recorded.
The liquidation of this object was started several times, its condition was assessed, preparatory work began, Doctor of Chemistry, scientific director of the All-Russian Research Institute for Environmental Protection Alexander Solovyanov told Izvestia. It is important to finally bring the matter to an end.
– Mercury is absorbed by building structures. When summer comes, under the influence of heat, it is released from them, collects in puddles on the floor of the workshop, gets into the soil, sewage, etc. It is important to disassemble this workshop for specialists, ordinary workers will simply be poisoned, – he explained.
According to him, after dismantling the workshop, it is necessary to bring the building structures to the landfills of hazardous industrial waste. There is another way: in special chambers under high temperature to force mercury to stand out from the materials of these structures, then condense it, purify and reuse it as a secondary resource.
– The work will require from 5 billion to 10 billion rubles. Either way, removing the mercury is extremely important. Metallic mercury is a substance of the first hazard class. In the fairy tale “Alice in Wonderland” there was the character of the Mad Hatter. So he was crazy, because in those days, mercury was used to process felt, and the master breathed vapors, – emphasized Alexander Solovyanov.
In the USSR, there were many such enterprises as in Usolye-Sibirskoye, a system of chemical industries and orgsyntheses worked. The problem is of a systemic nature, says Alexei Knizhnikov, head of the environmental responsibility program for business at the World Wildlife Fund. According to him, with the collapse of the USSR, many abandoned objects remained, and pollutants there now penetrate into the environment more actively than in those days when the enterprises were operating and were under control.
– The problem requires a solution through the federal program. Regional authorities will not be able to solve it without federal funding. It is now important to take into account all such “hot spots”. Russia has experience in rehabilitating such facilities, ”concluded Alexey Knizhnikov.
After the meeting, Vladimir Putin held a bilateral videoconference with Igor Kobzev, who informed the president about the negative economic consequences caused by the pandemic and the fall in oil prices. According to the acting head of the region, “the lost income will amount to more than 18 billion rubles, which is 10% of own income.”
Based on the agreements with the Ministry of Finance, the entity must cut its costs by 22 billion rubles. The regional authorities, however, are ready to reduce them only by 10-12 billion. Otherwise, this will lead to the impossibility of implementing priority and socially significant measures, Igor Kobzev is sure. Against this background, the acting governor asked the president to allocate 10 billion rubles in aid. The President promised to discuss this issue with the government.
During the meeting, the topic of creating a gas chemical complex in the region was also raised. Vladimir Putin instructed Igor Kobzev to prepare a program for its construction. According to the head of state, everything needs to be calculated, in particular, with Gazprom. The head of state also promised to return to Tulun, which suffered from floods last year.