Threats to water resources from hexachlorobenzene waste at Kalush City (Ukraine)—a review of the risks and the remediation options

Abstract

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.

Development of mathematical models of gas leakage and its propagation in atmospheric air at an emergency gas well gushing

“…This approach can be useful both in the complex design of new wells and planning safety measures for existing wells, in particular for estimating the maximum possible concentrations of planned releases. As an example, there would be a wellbore where it is necessary to define whether the maximum permissible concentrations of toxic components will be exceeded under given atmospheric scattering conditions at the border of the sanitary-protective zone round the drilling rig and in neighboring settlements [1,2,8].…”

“…The problem of the first group consists in a prompt forecasting proceeding from the emergency fact. The problem of the second group consists in early assessment of the pollutant spread in AA under fixed conditions [6][7][8]. Prediction of actual and potential level of pollutants with a sufficient accuracy is connected with some difficulties.…”

Reviewing the relevance of dioxin and PCB sources for food from animal origin and the need for their inventory, control and management

“…The production of chlorinated solvents (e.g., tetrachlorethylene, trichlorethylene, carbon tetrachloride) has contaminated numerous sites with UPOPs [ 153 – 156 ]. Solvent production waste contains high levels of several UPOPs, including hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) as “HCB waste” [ 9 , 156 – 158 ].…”

Advanced technologies for the remediation of pesticide-contaminated soils

“…Over these extended time periods landfill systems are likely to degrade, thus posing a risk of releasing large contaminant loads to the environment. When this occurs, excavation of the waste and associated contaminated soil and remediation of the site are carried out, and the final destruction of the contaminant waste is frequently carried out in well-regulated incinerators (Lysychenko et al, 2015), which is only possible in highly industrialized countries.…”