The production of chlorinated solvents such as tetrachloroethylene and tetrachloromethane has resulted in large stockpiles of unintentionally produced persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including high content of hexachlorobenzene (HCB waste). HCB waste of 15,000 t arising from the production of chlorinated solvents at the Kalush factory in Ukraine was landfilled. In 2008, it was discovered that HCB and other pollutants were escaping from the landfill into local environment including the Sapogi-Limnytsia Rivers, tributaries of the Dniester River. This showed that the HCB waste was not appropriately contained and represented a threat to the Dniester River basin. A Presidential Decree of Ukraine was therefore issued requiring remediation of the site and excavation of the waste. Between 2010 and 2013, approximately 29,445 t of HCB waste and associated contaminated soil was excavated and exported to various EU countries for incineration. This excavation revealed that these wastes can corrode through their drums within a few decades with release of pollutants. Other sites at which chlorinated solvents were produced should therefore be assessed for possible similar pollution. Despite the remediation efforts and the excavation of the landfill, the Kalush area remains a POP-contaminated site requiring further assessment. A part of the waste was exported to Poland and is stored close to the Baltic Sea and is treated in an incinerator with small capacity over a time frame of years. This case and recent similar cases reveal that the control of POP waste for destruction even in EU countries needs to be improved.

No abstract

В статі розглянуто проблему несанкціонованого обігу ядерних матеріалів. Проаналізовано статистичні дані МАГАТЕ щодо обігу ядерних матеріалів в світі за період з 1993 по 2012 рр. Проаналізовано уранові руди з діючих родовищ України з точки зору їхніх атрибутивних ознак для ідентифікації ядерних матеріалів для завдань ядерної криміналістики.

The article examines uranium ore manifestations, mining and associated radon emanation potential from the point of view of radiation hazard to the environment in the region of the Ukrainian Shield and its slopes, namely within the Central Ukrainian Uranium Province. The maximum amount of radon is established in the geodynamically active zones in overlapping rocks associated with new tectonic anomalies in parent rocks. Most hazardous are areas where new tectonic activation zones and uranium ore manifestations occur relatively close to the surface. The approach towards 'radon-prone areas' in accordance with the European Basic Safety Standards is emphasized.

The extraction and processing of uranium ores in Ukraine have led to the accumulation of large amounts of waste. It is obvious that the old technologies are not applicable to the extraction of uranium from such waste. Therefore, the search for the new, more efficient methods of extracting residual amounts of waste nutrients and subsequent improvement of the environmental status of contaminated areas are both necessary. The supercritical carbon dioxide fluid extraction (SFE-CO2) is proposed as a method that can be utilized independently or as the last step of the acid leaching method adopted at VostGOK to extract the uranium. The efficiency of uranium SFE-CO2 can reach 98%.