Okechukwu Ibeanu, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxic Wastes, visited Ukraine last week. During his visit the UN official traveled to several regions, including Zakarpattia and Lviv oblasts, where he made on-the-spot inspections of places where some illegally-imported hazardous products and wastes are buried.
The precise quantity of wastes being stored in Ukraine is unknown. The estimates of Ukrainian environmentalists and foreign commissions range from 50 to 60 million tons of hazardous substances. These include illegally dumped wastes of foreign origin as well as wastes of hazardous agents produced in Ukraine or officially imported into the country. Ukraine has been “collecting” toxic agents for so long that their quantity does not matter now: what really matters is the quality of these wastes, likely consequences, and lawful and civilized ways of their disposal.
The storage of toxic wastes in Ukraine infringes the rights of people to a safe environment, clean water, and work conditions free of occupational hazards. Unfortunately, it is difficult to make the scientific connection between toxic wastes stored near populated areas and people’s health. Foreign experience shows that products with the same toxic content cause the same health problems.
“Therefore, it is essential to adhere to the principle of problem prevention and responsibility of the authorities even if there is no final scientific proof to this,” the UN special rapporteur told a press conference last Tuesday. He also emphasized the fact that ordinary Ukrainians know very little about the illicit dumping of wastes and therefore should have access to information, including data on the state of the environment in the regions.
In Ibeanu’s opinion, the Ukrainian government is aware of the problem of the illegal importation and dumping of toxic wastes and agrees that it should be solved urgently.
“Most of the officials that I met want to find a solution for this problem,” he stressed. “They all agree that Ukraine is facing a serious environmental danger from the long Soviet period of industrial pollution as well as from a huge reserve of obsolete and hazardous pesticides.”
During his visit to Ukraine, the UN official focused on two special cases that illustrate the problem of storing toxic agents: premix in Zakarpattia and coal tar in Lviv oblast. As reported earlier by The Day, these substances came to Ukraine from Hungary, and the Ministry for Environmental Protection, Prosecutor-General’s Office, and local authorities have been grappling with this problem over the past year. Unfortunately, these are not isolated cases in Ukraine, and in Ibeamu’s view they prove that our country should have adequate customs control and clear-cut requirements for the content of materials being imported.
Nor are these problems well known to other interested parties, such as central and local authorities in both Ukraine and Hungary, from where premix and coal tar were brought in. According to Alan Skurbaty, UN Human Rights Advisor in Ukraine, our country now has a strong legislative basis, but there is an unwillingness to follow the letter of the law. “This mission is only the first step. We will soon draw up a report on the state of affairs,” Skurbaty said. “We are going to discuss this report with members of the Ukrainian government and bring it to the attention of the general public.”
Human rights advocates think that such actions will strengthen cooperation among the populace, the authorities, and non-governmental organizations, and reinforce efforts to observe laws in Ukraine. United Nations special rapporteurs are authorized not only to state a fact but also to investigate and monitor a situation as well as to offer advice on solving problems. Ibeanu assured journalists that his visit does not call for an international interference and will not necessarily lead to sanctions from the UN or other international organizations. That’s a pity. Perhaps what Ukrainian bureaucrats really need is precisely this kind of spur in order to finally dispose of toxic agents.
