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Identification of hot spots and evaluation of their potential transboundary impact
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3.3.3 Identification of hot spots and evaluation of their potential transboundary impact
Surface water quality in the Dnipro Basin is affected by a large number of point sources, including industries, urban centres, mining and agricultural developments. In autumn 2001, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) launched the Project on Identification and Evaluation of Pollution Sources (Hot Spots) in the Dnipro Basin. Within the framework of this Project, national experts from the riparian countries of the Dnipro Basin have identified major hot spots affecting the ecological state of water bodies within the Dnipro Basin.
Figure 3.19 shows the locations of the most significant pollution sources (hot spots) identified by the national experts in the Belorussian, Russian and Ukrainian parts of the Dnipro Basin. A list of major hot spots for the three countries is shown in Table 3.17.
Radioactive pollution hot spots
In order to fully reflect local specific conditions existing in the Basin, it is necessary to identify radioactive pollution hot spots. The list of actual and potential hot spots of radioactive pollution is presented below.
Current hot spots:
1. The Pripyat River floodplain section within the Chernobyl exclusion zone. This is considered to be a transboundary hot spot with an impact that increases during high flow periods.
2. Radioactive waste dumps at the former Pridniprovsky Chemical Plant (PCP) site in Dniprodzerzhinsk, and uranium processing sites in Zheltye Vody. These national hot spots have the potential to create a persistent long-term impact if the integrity of tailing waste storage facilities is affected by erosion or a major accident.
3. Inhabited areas in the three countries with high levels of Chernobyl-related radioactive contamination, including enclosed lakes, where 137Cs concentrations in food products or drinking water exceed admissible limits. These local hot spots occur in all three countries of the Basin.
4. Chernobyl exclusion zone, where temporary radioactive waste storage sites and local sources are concentrated, resulting in higher radionuclide concentrations in local small water bodies.
Potential hot spots:
1. The Chernobyl Shelter Facility and Cooling Reservoir could result in a potential transboundary hot spot if they were to collapse.
2. Nuclear Power Plants located within the Dnipro Basin have a transboundary hot spot potential if a major accident were to occur. The probability of this is considered to be low in view of the continuous large-scale operational safety improvements implemented at the nuclear power facilities in Russia and Ukraine. However, a massive release would have considerable transboundary impact, particularly on the Black Sea, if it were to occur in the south of Ukraine.
Figure 3.19. Major hot spots identified in the three riparian countries of the Dnipro Basin
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Review of the 2000-2001 field survey results. Assessment of impact of transboundary pollution transport on the environmental situation in the Basin (local and global effects)