Water Quality in Russia Background and case studies image credit:
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Water Quality in Russia Background and case studies image credit:
Water Quality in Russia Background and case studies Jordan Duffy, Parker Forsley, and Jenny Bower image credit: http://sochiwatchdotorg.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_4490.jpg Water Quality in Russia ❖ Policy ➢ Relationship between government and science ❖ Water quality impacts ➢ Industrial/military pollution ➢ Hydropower ➢ Sochi ❖ Water availability ➢ Clean Water Program Photo Credit: geography.about.org Environmental policy ❖ “Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment” ➢ conflict of interest ❖ environmental issues have low priority ❖ private interests and public interests intertwined ➢ Gryzlov & Petrik ➢ public officials have ties to companies w/governmental contracts ❖ natural resources “shadow economy” ❖ Russian Academy of Sciences ➢ dissolved in 2013 ➢ Mikhail Kovalchuck Industrial and military pollution ❖ Soviet legacy: pollution ➢ environmental contamination not a concern ➢ led to 40% of Russian territory facing moderately high to high ecological stress ❖ Current contamination ➢ 75% of surface water ➢ 50% total water ➢ 30% groundwater ❖ Aging/obsolete infrastructure ❖ Pollutants ➢ Heavy metals ➢ Dioxins ➢ Fertilizers ➢ Oil ➢ Chemical weapons ➢ Radioactive waste from weapons “Radioactive rivers” ❖ In 1948, nuclear weapon production starts at Chelyabinsk-40 along the Techa River in the southern Ural mountains. ➢ diluted effluent dumped straight into the river (2.75 million curies between 194956) ➢ contained high levels of Strontium-90 and Cesium-137, with half lives of 30 years ➢ Primary water source for residents along river. 28,000 exposed to high levels of radiation ★ In 1951 Soviet scientists discovered high levels of radiation along river banks -effluent disposal moved to nearby Lake Karachay which contained no inlets or outlets. -drying of lake causes dust to spread. ❖ September 29, 1957: cooling system of reservoirs fails ➢ explosion resembling ammonium nitrate bomb occurs, fallout cloud spreads hundreds of kilometers. ➢ 10,000+ residents evacuated with no explanation Oil spills ❖ Russia accounts for 12% of the world's oil production and near 50% of the total oil spills with approximately 20,000 per year. ➢ Approximately 30 million barrels of oil spilled annually. ➢ ~4 million barrels flow straight into the Arctic Ocean. ❖ Russian authorities claim there are only hundreds of inland spills per year. ➢ According to Russian law, spills less than 56 barrels do not need to be reported. ■ Government often turns a blind eye to many oil spills. Either ignoring fines or drastically reducing them. ➢ Emergency and spill response tools are not often enforced. ❖ As Arctic sea ice recedes, oil spills become more of a looming threat. ➢ Conditions in these drilling sites are unpredictable, floating icebergs, etc. ➢ Response team would be far too slow and there is currently no technology effective at cleaning oil spills in ice conditions. photo credit: Greenpeace Oil-contaminated rivers in the city of Usinsk ❖ Over 1,200 miles from Arctic Research and Design Center for Offshore Developments (ARC). ARC is responsible for monitoring and preventing emergency situations. Hydropower ❖ 16% of electricity generated by hydropower ➢ ranked 5th in the world for hydroelectricity production ❖ Export to China ➢ China Yangtze Energy + EurSibEnergo ➢ 100 billion kW hours supplied over next 25 years ❖ Negative effects ➢ Resettlement ➢ Poor oversight and regulation ■ Sayano–Shushenskaya accident: 75 dead ➢ Uncleared reservoirs; ecological harm ➢ Some located in seismically active zones Sochi impacts ❖ strong ties between contractors and government ➢ hasty environmental assessment ➢ “green construction standards” = post-construction bandaid ➢ repression of protesters ❖ construction affected over 8,000 acres of Sochi National Park ➢ “protected zones” ❖ water contamination due to illegal landfill dumping ❖ clearcutting ❖ destruction of wetlands ❖ pollution of Mzytma, Laura, and Achipse rivers ➢ increased turbidity, arsenic levels ➢ vulnerable salmon population photo credit: Al Jazeera Problem areas ❖ Volga and Dnepr rivers ➢ sewage, eutrophication ➢ Volga spontaneously ignited in 1970 ❖ Baltic, Black, Caspian seas ➢ sewage, flooding of Caspian ➢ Black Sea contains only 5 species of fish; only 10% of volume contains enough oxygen to support aquatic life ❖ Lakes Baikal, Ladoga, Onega ➢ heavy metals, radioactive military waste, fertilizers, chemicals, sewage ❖ St. Petersburg, Moscow ➢ disease from polluted waters Water availability ❖ Aging/obsolete infrastructure ➢ rusting pipes ➢ 40% of system needs refurbishment ❖ Giardia in St. Petersburg ❖ Cholera, brown water in Moscow ❖ Large number of untreated wastewater effluents ➢ in 2004, only 10.6% of wastewater was treated according to regulations ❖ 25% of world fresh water ➢ neglected, polluted Clean Water Program ❖ Initiated in 2006 -> Plans to run through 2017 ➢ 331.8 billion roubles (10 billion USD) ❖ Aims to bring clean water to public institutions ❖ Federal government will fund up to 60%, remaining from regional and municipal ❖ Resented by Russian scientific community ❖ Viktor Petrik’s filters (nanotechnology) were chosen to use on the pilot project ➢ Petrik’s filters were abandoned and program revised in 2011 Pure Water Federal Target Program ❖ Supply population with quality freshwater, introduce modern technologies --- 2011->2017 ➢ produce light steel tubing, noncorrosive for 100 years ➢ repair all existing pipelines ➢ wastewater treatment, combine UV and ultrasound disinfectant ➢ wastewater for space heating Activism ❖ Environmental Watch of North Caucasus (EWNC) ❖ Sochi activists ➢ Vitishko and Gazaryan ■ arrested for “swearing in public” ❖ “Eco-blogger” ➢ trying to publicize the orange chemical sludge ■ beaten in public ❖ Greenpeace ➢ Arrested for protest banners спасибо!! References http://countrystudies.us/russia/25.htm https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/5384-Russia-s-Siberian-dams-power-electric-boilers-inBeijing http://www.waterworld.com/articles/wwi/print/volume-26/issue-4/regulars/creative-finance/russian-water-andwastewater-market.html http://www.nprvo.ru/en/water/program/ http://www2.epa.gov/international-cooperation/epa-collaboration-russia http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/PageFiles/480942/Point_Of_No_Return.pdf http://newamericamedia.org/2013/10/behind-russia-vs-greenpeace-furor-unreported-oil-pollution-of-the-arctic.php http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/EPNZ_1-3_oil_and_gas_areas.png/640px-EPNZ_13_oil_and_gas_areas.png http://ewnc.org/files/sochi/Doklad-Sochi-2014_EWNC-Eng.pdf