On July 4, 2022, a round table was held, dedicated to the new possibilities of operational warning of the population about chemical pollution and radiation, which currently exist in Ukraine. Representatives of Dykanka and Poltava shared their experience, discussed the cases of Kremenchuk and Rivne, Zaporizhzhia. Recording below.
The event was attended by representatives of territorial communities and public organizations, scientists and students, there were doctors and journalists. After all, as a result of military operations, dozens of crimes against the environment and people’s health are committed every day in Ukraine. And when a Rashist rocket flies into a settlement, a warehouse explodes or an enterprise burns, there is always a leak of more or less dangerous substances – but how do you know whether it is worth hiding in the basement from ammonia or radiation, climbing to the attic in case of a cloud of poisonous chlorine – or is it just stench and carbon monoxide etc?
The communicator of the “Clean Air for Ukraine” project, Tetyana Zhavzharova, talked about the new official website of the Ministry of Environment “Ekozagroza”, where environmental crimes are recorded, and about the air quality map https://eco-city.org.ua, where you can view data in real time more than 300 stations of the Ecocity network throughout Ukraine, even in the front-line territories.
This largest public monitoring network in Ukraine was created in 2018 with the support of the Czech non-governmental organization “Arnica”. Europeans are actively helping to improve environmental safety in Ukraine by supporting public initiatives and conducting scientific research on air pollution, organizing a dialogue between the authorities, scientists and the community.
“We support the development of the public air monitoring network EcoCity, which was created by our partner Free Arduino,” said Marcela Chernotsova, coordinator of the international Czech-Ukrainian project “Clean Air for Ukraine.” – Unfortunately, the development of the EcoCity network was abruptly interrupted by Russian aggression, and the network was significantly damaged, as many stations in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia region were destroyed or disconnected. The importance of the network was proven during the war, as many citizens and local authorities used EcoCity data and information to determine the air quality situation – especially in the event of attacks and accidents caused by shelling and air raids. To reflect the situation and contribute to public safety, we now more often install monitoring stations with sensors that detect chemical contamination and radiation. And I am glad that the network is expanding – new regions and new users are joining our network: Vinnytsia, Dykanka, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil.”
Maksym Soroka, an environmental safety expert of the Dovkola network, scientific and technical consultant of the Clean Air for Ukraine project, spoke about the services for communities created by online monitoring of air quality during the war.
Each city or village can create a network of online monitoring of air quality and radiation to be sure that the population is safe or, on the contrary, it is time to evacuate. Oleksiy Trelevskyi, curator of the Ukrainian EcoCity monitoring network, presented the capabilities of the new stations to quickly determine the leakage of nitrogen, ammonia, chlorine, formaldehyde, excess dust and carbon monoxide – and even report invisible radiation pollution.
Oleksiy Ivzhenko, head of the economic development and investment attraction department of Dykanska TG (Poltava Oblast), is confident. So, seeing that the state is choosing its independence and does not currently have funds for new monitoring posts, Dykanska TG involved a public organization and together they received grant funding for the creation of a monitoring network to warn the population about environmental pollution. Already in the summer, 12 posts appeared in Dykantsa, surrounding the city and creating a zone of psychological comfort for residents.
This roundtable once again showed that implementing air quality and radiation monitoring in every community is a requirement not only in peacetime, but also in wartime.
