Pervomaisk District Administration awaits funding to dispose of hazardous chemicals

Environmentalists discovered hazardous chemicals in Mykolaiv region. Photo: State Environmental Inspectorate

In Pervomaiskyi district of Mykolaiv region, 46.7 tonnes of unsuitable plant protection chemicals (PPCs) are still stored, as well as 60 tonnes of contaminated soil and 19 reinforced concrete containers that previously stored unusable pesticides.

This was announced during a briefing by the head of the Pervomaisk District Military Administration, Serhii Sakovskyi.

Serhii Sakovskyi noted that 2.2 tonnes of liquid fraction is located on the territory of Pervomaisk community in the village of Pidhorodnia, and 0.5 tonnes of liquid fraction is located on the lands of Syniukhyn Brid community. He assured us that other concrete structures are not in danger, only the liquid fraction.

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«These chemical plant protection products have been accumulated for many years, back in the Soviet Union, by former collective and state farms. After their reform, they were unusable for a long time. They were transferred to the appropriate category. The owner has not been identified due to the fact that we know what events took place before that. In 2008-2012, the relevant waste was disposed of in several stages. For example, over 45 tonnes were disposed of in 2008 and about 50 tonnes in 2011-2012», said Serhii Sakovskyi.

He also noted that currently, in accordance with the current legislation, local state administrations are responsible for the disposal and storage of such waste on the territory of communities. In 2024, an inspection was carried out and barrels were found that were stored without doors in an improper condition. However, the issue could not be resolved due to a lack of funds in local budgets.

«The commission's decision was to appeal to local communities, but communities have limited financial resources, insufficient for disposal and storage. In addition, this work should be carried out by a licensed company. We do not have such a company in our region. We contacted a company in the Odesa region, which provided us with preliminary estimates of the cost of these works. We submitted these calculations to the regional commission on technical and industrial safety and emergency response», said Serhii Sakovskyi.

According to him, the regional commission made a positive decision. The issue was also considered by the Ecology Commission of the Mykolaiv Regional Council and sent to the session. The Pervomaisk community is expecting a positive decision and hopes to receive funds for waste disposal.

As previously reported, during the inspection in the Pervomaisk and Syniukhin Brid communities of Mykolaiv region, inspectors found warehouses with pesticides that can no longer be used. The chemicals found were old plant protection products left over from the Soviet era.

As a reminder, in the de-occupied territories of Mykolaiv region, the soil contained high levels of heavy metals. In particular, arsenic, lead, copper, zinc, and explosive residues.