ECOLOGIA NEWSLETTER Archive
The collectivisation of agriculture led to ploughing off the edges of fields and field preserves, including the field roads, so that the small fields were connected into large expanses of land. On our sloping land this caused erosion, which led to a decline in agricultural production. In an attempt to increase production, chemical fertilizers were extensively used. So there soon appeared another problem: polluted surface water. In addition, industry and cities have lacked waste water treatment plants, further degrading water quality.
This situation is fortunately changing. Starting in 1990, the Czech Republic has been recovering slowly from almost half century of central planning, and shifting to a market economy. The land was relieved of high doses of agricultural chemicals, because their prices are now several times higher. The Czech government grasped firmly the economics under their control, but unfortunately only the economics!
During the past five years the export of non-processed materials (such as limestone, other sorts of stone, gravel, sand, coal) and primary (i.e. only partially processed) products has almost tripled. Their main purchaser is our neighboring Germany. These materials are several times less expensive in Czech Republic, partly due to the cheap labor force but especially because our state actually still donates the energy and transportation. Cheap (state-subsidized) energy production keeps the costs of industrial production artificially low. Thus the price of the Czech products does not include the costs of polluting our environment.
The under-valued prices of Czech produced materials lead to much waste. For example our high quality high-percentage limestone is used for production of cement (while cement is usually made from limestone of lower quality). The low price encourages export; between 1988 and 1994 the export of cement increased more than twenty times! Now the Czech Republic exports almost 40% of its entire cement production. Because cement production is highly extractive (requiring extensive strip and open-pit mining) and also very energy-intensive, we come to the conclusion that we are in fact exporting our environment. From the viewpoint of long-term development of the Czech economy, this does not make sense.
The new Heidelberg Cement plant is intended to replace an obsolete existing cement plant near the city of Beroun. So we can pose a question: what is so wrong with building a modern plant instead of an old one, which strongly pollutes the Beroun environment? The basic problem is the capacity of the new plant, which is related to the planned export of Czech cement into Germany. The new plant would have a capacity almost three times greater than the existing one; the amount of cement exported to Germany from the new plant would equal the total current production of the old plant. For the Czech Republic, this would mean the growth of so called "dirty productions" (energy-intensive heavy industry) and thus continuing devastation of the environments.
In addition to all the problems related to the export of raw materials, there are many very serious objections to building this cement plant in the proposed location. The plant would be situated only a few dozen meters from the border of the regional nature preserve of the Czech Karst, about 30 km (20 miles) from Prague.
This happening was the last action of our campaign, "50 days for the Czech Karst". In the middle of April 1995 Deti Zeme (Children of the Earth) proclaimed this activity. Its aim was not only to save the regional preserve, but also to connect the much criticized fragmented ecological movement in Czech Republic. We tried at least in this one campaign to involve as much people as possible, of different interests. We contacted not only the ecological organizations but also the Scout groups and high schools. We sent hundreds of letters asking for inspiration and support. There were many of possibilities, from creating a wall poster on some public place or decorating a banner by paintings, to participating in a seminar or in the common actions, or collecting of signatures for our petitions.
One of the important parts of this activity was a Czech-German seminar focused on the Czech Karst, held in April. The seminar was free and it ended with an excursion to endangered places of the regional preserve. We also visited well-known caves (which are very close to the locality of the proposed cement plant). We also organized some informal activities. For example each Friday in Prague we held "A Running Race of Dust Raisers". In small toy lorries we alegorically transported cement from the Old Town Square in Prague (the location of the Ministery of Economics which supports the devastation of the Czech Karst and exportation of cheap cement into Germany) to the German embassy on Mal Strana. Anybody could take part in this activity. Once a mother with a baby carriage participated. Other times we would be supported by a University professor of mathematics, and or by a member of Parliament.
Today, the newly elected mayor of the village of Suchomasty is a founding member of the Citizens' Initiative Suchomasty. This is a great triumph for all the opponents of the cement plant. Children of the Earth has recently been helping these small villages and their representatives with expert and technical aspects of their activities, and most of all we try to coordinate our actions with them.
The problem is that, according to Czech laws, the Environmental Impact Assessment is not binding. It represents only a recommendation, so that the administrative agency responsible for giving permission is not obliged to follow it. The management of the regional preserve also expressed its disapproval of the construction of this cement plant on its borders. But again, according to the Czech laws, if the plant doesn't directly interfere with the area of regional preserve, then the opinion of its management isn't obligatory. Never mind that the direct impact on the nature and landscape are well known. Many of the experts and ecologists also expressed their disaprovement of the construction of the plant, but it has not helped so far.
We are afraid that the German company, Heidelberg Cement, is taking advantage of the environmental protection laws of Czech Republic, which are weaker than the German laws. The Heidelberg Cement company asked for, and was denied, permission to burn hazardous wastes in the proposed plant. Another worry that we have is that, if the plant is actually built, then they will proceed to burn the hazardous wastes.
And we do not want the Czech Republic to be transformed into a so called "banana republic", or a country of the third world, which would serve for developped countries as a source of unrestorable natural resources, while the developped countries save their own resources and ecologies for the future.
In July 1995, the Children of the Earth made a two-days march to Beroun to the local board, which is willing to give permission for constructing the plant, and presented them with a petition containing 10,000 signatures of local and other citizens who rejected the cement plant. They were told by director's deputy Dr. Imon that the citizens' initiatives are not adequate partners for their board, and that the local people are misinformed and that's why they oppose the plant. This statement clearly expressed the attitude of this local authority, which is supposed to represent the interests of local citizens, but in fact completely ignores their demands.
A few days later, the Ministry of Environment gave permission for the construction of the cement plant on agricultural land, which was the last formal obstacle for construction of the plant.
Right now, in August 1995, despite all of our success in building public support and enlisting the aid of scientists, politicians and other NGOs, the Czech government is allowing the Heidelberg Cement company to proceed with its plans.
If you know any possibility how to help us, or if you have an interest in cooperating with us, please contact us at the following address:
Radka Kvasnickova Deti Zeme (Children of the Earth) Podbabska 14 160 00, Praha 6 The Czech Republic phone, fax: 42-2-311 70 75With the publication of two new books designed for the educated general public, the Center of Russian Environmental Policy in Moscow has taken a large step toward public disclosure and discussion of the connection between secret military programs and environmental degradation. Russian Minister of the Environment, Alexei Yablokov, is on the board of directors of the Center of Russian Environmental Policy.
This is a highly significant book, because it is the first open analysis of the political and environmental importance of the issue of chemical weapons in Russia. The potential audience for the book is rather wide. Not only will it interest experts who deal professionally with the issues of chemical weapons developing, production and disposal, it will also be valuable for those who lack specialized knowledge but are interested in the issues of environmental pollution. No doubt this book will be useful for decision-makers, as an alternative information source which is often contradicts official sources. Its strong social orientation is also worth mentioning.
Fedorov starts by reviewing the history of the development, production and testing of chemical weapons in Russia, and by providing basic information on the different chemical weapons and their production, testing and storage sites. Then he proceeds to discuss the environmental problems of chemical weapons. The scope of pollution caused in Russia by military-chemical activity is evaluated. The book also contains a discussion of chemical disarmament: its political and social aspects, and techniques and technologies of such a disposal. American experts have estimated disposal costs for Russia to be about $20 billion, and for the U.S., $3 - 6 billion. In closing, the author makes some recommendations of ways to avoid chemical confrontation and to overcome related environmental problems.
The book contains extensive factual data on those issues. At the same time the book is not free from some subjectivism; sometimes the discussion appeals to emotional arguments only. Maybe the main fault is that among 180 sources listed in the bibliography, 80% are mass-media publications and only 20% of the references are to scientific articles, monographs and documents. Such an approach does not guarantee the reliability of information, because when published in mass-media the factual information is frequently distorted. Sometimes the author is forced to use mass-media articles because of the lack of non-classified information. In a number of cases the information presented in the book, while valuable and thought-provoking, still needs to be verified using more reliable sources.
After graduating from Moscow State University with a PhD in Chemistry, Lev Alexandrovich Fedorov worked in the institutions of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. He has never used his scientific knowledge to develop or produce chemical weapons. For the last ten years his research has dealt with environmental issues, especially with manmade supertoxicant pollutants such as dioxins and liquid rocket fuels. He is now a leading researcher of the Vernadsky Institute for Geo-chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, located in Moscow. He is also a Member of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Though the book deals with sophisticated technical and technological issues, it is written with simple and clear language. Therefore the book can be of use and interest not only for the experts but also for non-professionals who are interested in nuclear ecology. The book starts by defining plutonium as Ňa dangerous manmade fissionable substance", explaining the history of its discovery and use and its physical and chemical properties. Ways in which plutonium contaminates the human organism, the harm it causes to living creatures, and its circulation in the biosphere, are clearly described. After explaining the technologies involved in plutonium production (for its use in weapons, and as a by-product of nuclear power plants), the authors discuss the issues of plutonium storage and the handling of radioactive waste.
The chapters dealing with plutonium contamination in nature, in the human body, and in the nation of Russia will probably be the most interesting for the general public. These chapters contain many illustrative photos obtained with radiographical techniques. The contamination of areas adjacent to plutonium processing plants and nuclear plants is briefly analyzed, as well as the issue of plutonium contamination of the ocean.
For the first time the role of the Russian public in solving the plutonium problem is analyzed. Lydia Popova asserts that the decision-making process is not being done in contact with the public in Russia. MinAtom, the Nuclear Ministry, tries to enforce all important decisions without any public discussion. For example, the decision concerning building a depository for nuclear warheads in Tomsk was made without any discussion. Russian citizens were informed by United States NGOs! In 1992-1993 more than 100,000 Tomsk region citizens signed petitions against these plans. To develop a dialogue with the public, it is necessary to work out procedures and mechanisms to receive the information and to control the implementation of decisions.
This book attempts to reflect different points of view on this complicated issue, correctly and objectively. This is seen most clearly in the chapter "Conclusions and Recommendations". The conclusions are well grounded and carefully thought over.
For example, it is necessary to publicize data concerning the health of nuclear facility personnel, and of the population of the regions where nuclear facilities are located. Basic federal laws, such as laws on nuclear power use, radioactive waste management, and protection of the population from radioactivity, should be adopted. It is necessary to improve public communication, and generally the federal government must pay more attention to solving the plutonium problem. These conclusions should be acceptable both for the public living near nuclear plants and for the experts of MinAtom (Nuclear Ministry). Let's hope that these recommendations will be heard by the decision-makers.
Of course, the book does not contain all possible information on the issue and does not pretend to do so. But the authors' task was: "... to state if possible in the simple and clear form present scientific and technical data on what the plutonium is, for what purposes it is produced, what its properties are, why and how it can be used in weapons and to produce energy, how it is dangerous for the people's lives and health." This task is fulfilled very well. One more advantage of the book is a wonderful bibliography, which can be a good guide for further reading and for accessing original information sources.
Marina Khotulyova is a graduate of the Mendeleyev Institute of Chemistry and Technology (Moscow), Department of Physical Chemistry, and has a PhD in Chemistry (Kinetics and Cathalysis). She has worked as a researcher at the N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, and has also done extensive fieldwork throughout the former Soviet Union.
As N.I.S. Senior Program Officer and Technical Consultant for ECOLOGIA, she is responsible for planning, operational support, and project supervision of the NGO Water Monitoring Network in Russia and Uzbekistan. She also evaluates information resources and handles information requests for E-TIP (ECOLOGIA's Technical Information Program).