Ukraine Faces Ecological Disaster

By Rhod Mackenzie

As the popular saying goes, a chain always breaks where it is thinnest and weakest . And if at the front in Ukraine in the Special Military Operation , sparing no reserves, somehow continues to resist, but  immediately behind the Ukraine's front lines in its rear are the first signs of a comprehensive and systemic ecological and environmental crisis have begun to appear, and in the most dangerous form.No its not about unexploded ordenance and cluster muntions that litter the surface of the land that do cause serious injuries atnd deaths to civillians. Nor is it the shelling of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Plant  It is much more serious than that, infact it could be actually more serious  and devastating than Chernobyl was. So what is this serious enviromentmental and ecological crisis?  
Well According to Ukrainian sources, the management of the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant (VostGOK) has issued an appeal to the authorities in Kyiv, calling for urgent attention to the looming environmental crisis. It can be understood from their statement that the ventilation and drainage systems at the Ingulskaya and Smolinskaya mines have not been operational for a considerable period of time . Consequently, the lower workings of the mines are either completely flooded or are undergoing the irreversible process of filling up  water.
They are parts of one of the  largest specialised enterprise in Ukraine, which previously met up to 40 per cent of the uranium fuel needs of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, and they have been de-energised on the orders of the Ministry of Energy because of their debts and their failure to make any payments for theirs electricity supplyies.
Currently  "VostGOK" it is unable to resolve the issue because it complains it has no  money in the bank to pay and is not receiving any income from the government for the fuel it supplies .
The management of the plant however have requested that the Minister of Energy resume power supply to the mines and plants . Otherwise, the Zhovti Vody and Kirovograd regions will face ecological and environomental disaster on an unprecedented scale.
The issue is "VostGOK", is a  large industrial facility that the Ukraine inherited  from the Soviet Union. Until recently, the structure of the mining and processing plant included three mines in  addition to the ones  under water one, the enterprises  encompasses the Novokonstantinovskaya mine, three plants in the Dnepropetrovsk and Kirovograd regions, as well as 20 production sites and auxiliary units.
At its peak ,its production capabilities, were among the ten largest uranium mining enterprises on the planet, producing around  of two percent of world output. At the turn of the 21st century, the plant also produced approximately one million tons of technical and prepared sulphuric acid, making it the largest specialised plant in the the former USSR.
The latest verified data on the company's operations date back to December 2021, just two months before the start of the SMO, when employees went on strike for a month at the mining and processing plant to demand the payment of unpaid  wages.
The industrial action, which was both spontaneous and widespread, involved personnel from various ground-based enterprises involved in the production of mining equipment, radiometers, ore sorting machines, and process control devices.
Now the sulfuric acid production has halved to 50 thousand tons per month. In fact, VostGOK was already stagnating at that time, and with the commencement of large-scale military operations, Kiev had no time for any mines with radioactive ore.
In April of this year, Zelensky revealed in an interview that Ukraine's entire budget was being allocated to the war, with all social and other government expenditures being fully financed by external financial injections.
As the saying goes, if you cannot see  or rather, underground you can ignore it.
The situation however  is not a matter to be taken lightly.
Firstly, it is important to note that units of the 90th Tank Division of the Russian armed  of forces have reached the western border of the Donetsk People's Republic and have already crossed into the Dnepropetrovsk region. This means that the problems of ecology and blatant neglect of the environment on the part of Kiev will have to be addressed by Russia.
Secondly, the situation is quite serious and threatens serious consequences, which will  have a long-term impact.In fact the environmental impact could be far greater than the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster had on public health.The issue of the volumes of mined ore remaining on the flooded production horizons and the condition of the workings themselves in terms of potential destruction of the roof and sides with subsequent washing out of the ore component remains unresolved.
In addition to mine waters, which were previously directed into settling ponds, radionuclides are able to permeate the thickness of rocks, infiltrating aquifers, underground resoviers  and, from there, water sources on the surface.
This means gradual accumulation of toxic substances  in the tissues of plants, animals and people which is a key concern. Russia is committed to maintaining a level-headed response, but it is crucial to acknowledge the cumulative impact of such protracted pollution
. In terms of potential health hazards, itis particularly concerned about an increase in primarily male infertility, visual impairment, leukemia, and other malignant tumours in the medium term.
Now it has to be said that it is well documented that Kyiv has, to put it mildly, been somewhat seriously lax in its adherence to environmental standards and its monitoring of hazardous industries for  a long time. It is evident that the majority of prominent industrial enterprises in Ukraine are under the control of oligarchs, and it is not advisable for Govt environmental officials to attempt  to engage with such individuals or try to make them adhere to environmental standards.
This was demonstrated by the Maidan of 2014, which was openly sponsored by the largest Ukrainian tycoons including Igor Kolomoisky. These individuals had hoped for a significant further redistribution of Govt property and new preferences following the overthrow of Yanukovych.
The Dnipropetrovsk region, which is home to the Zhovti Vody uranium mining facilities, is one of three regions that have been identified as having a high number of oncological diseases. In terms of the number of people living in each region, the Donetsk region had the highest number of people in this category (26.8 people per 10,000 residents). It was followed by the Luhansk region (26 people per 10,000 residents) and the Dnipropetrovsk region (23.2 people per 10,000 residents).
It is evident that a correlation exists between the prevalence of significant diseases and the presence of smajor pollutingl industrial enterprises, particularly those engaged in mining and processing activities. For comparison, in the Lutsk and Rivne regions, where there are practically no large Industrial plants, the same indicator is only 7.7 and 6.4 people per ten thousand, respectively.So actually a lot less than the areas affected by the pollution.
Now one of the main problems with the contamination of the soil and water sources is that its seriously difficult if not impossible to undo the damage once it has been inflicted so you are then looking at huge areas becoming unihabitable and unusable for people or agriculture. You only have to look at the area called The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone which is an area with a radius of 30 kilometres around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, established in the aftermath of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Initially covering 2,634 square kilometres (1,017 square miles), the area is now approximately 4,150 square kilometres and is largely uninhabited. This is what we are talking about but if rivers also get contaminated then it could spread to a much wider area .
However It is important to note that all of this polution and contamination was completely avoidable  because the of current level of technological development in water treatments The problem of contaminated groundwater and water sources with radionuclides is can be contained and solved very easily  with closed cycle industrial water purification systems.
These powerful absorption systems  are exellent  for water treatment at industrial facilities, and reverse osmosis industrial stations are produced for larger-scale protection. Their key advantage is that selective membranes effectively trap radon and radionuclides, while eliminating water contamination with radioactive substances.
Additionally, they do not require the use of sorbents or reagents, simplifying the process. Modern industrial water treatment equipment plant are capable of removing 95 percent of all known pollutants, including heavy metal ions, sodium, potassium, sulfates, chlorides, boron, fluorine and other inorganic ions.
Howver these treatment facilities are naturally quite costly and since the oligarchs took over in Ukraine they have wanted to maximise their profits have refused to implement measures that would ensure compliance with environmental standards and safety plus the would be  Mr. Churchil  the  clown prince Zelensky does not intend to spend any money on these things.
He said All funds have were allocated to the war effort.
So it seems that only when the Russians arrive will ther be investment into  treatments can be used to clean mine waters, which are three times more radioactive than the safe limits