More than 220 tonnes of toxic chemicals still stored in communities in Mykolaiv region

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

In the Mykolaiv and Pervomaisk districts, 226 tonnes of unusable pesticides and agrochemicals were found in the inventory.

This was announced on 3 December during a briefing by Oleksandra Efymenko, head of the Ecology Department of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, NikVesti reports.

According to Oleksandra Yefymenko, the problem of accumulation of old pesticides has been going on for decades. Due to the war and the risk of destruction of warehouses, the threat of chemicals getting into the environment has become particularly acute.

In June, the RMA held a meeting on the proper storage and disposal of this waste. An inventory was also carried out. After that, some of the chemicals were removed.

«In June of this year, one of the storage facilities in the village of Syniushyn Brid, Pervomaiskyi district, was removed and disposed of on the basis of a contract with a specialised company», says the head of the environmental department of the Mykolaiv Regional Air Pollution Control Board.

Oleksandra Efimenko, Head of the Environmental Department of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. Video screenshot

As of now, five communities have been identified where unusable chemicals remain:

• Pervomaisk community
• Vradiivka community
• Arbuzynka community
• Halytsynove community
• Kamianyi Mist community

The Halytsynove community, in the village of Prybuzke, is preparing the same removal — after the conclusion of a new agreement.

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«In the village of Prybuzke of the Halytsynove community, it is planned to remove and dispose of waste at the expense of the hromada after concluding an agreement with a specialised enterprise», adds Oleksandra Yefymenko.

The Mykolaiv RMA hopes to dispose of all chemicals in 2026.

In April 2025, during an inspection in the Pervomaiska and Syniukhin-Brid communities of the Mykolaiv region, inspectors found warehouses with pesticides that could no longer be used. These included 46.7 tonnes of unsuitable plant protection chemicals (PPCs), as well as 60 tonnes of contaminated soil and 19 reinforced concrete containers that had previously stored unusable pesticides.

In addition, on 14 July, experts from the State Environmental Inspectorate, together with local authorities, inspected a site near the village of Novokrasne, Pervomaisk district, where the unusable plant protection products were stored. It turned out that the chemicals were lying directly in the ground, without containers, in the form of a mound of about 1,500 square metres and five metres high.

Following this, in October, the Ecology Department of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration announced a tender for the disposal of the unusable plant protection chemicals. The cost of the work is 1.14 million hryvnias.