100 Tons of Banned Chemicals Found in Mykolaiv, Environmental Damage Estimated at ₴ 6.7M

Almost 100 tons of banned chemicals and contaminated soil dumped in 1989 were found in Mykolaiv region. The information about the discovered substances is to be transferred to the state register.

This was reported by the press service of the State Ecological Inspectorate of the Southwestern District.

Within the Arbuzyn community, environmentalists found banned and unusable chemical plant protection products.

According to environmental inspectors, the pesticides, along with contaminated soil, were discovered during a commission inspection on April 16. According to locals, these substances were covered with soil back in 1989.

According to the inventory of 2023, the total amount of hazardous residues together with contaminated soil was about 100 tons.

The information about the discovery should be transferred to the national register of hazardous chemical storage sites, which was created as part of the National Waste Management Plan for 2025-2033.

The State Ecological Inspectorate emphasized that unauthorized handling of such substances is a violation of environmental legislation. Work is currently underway to identify potentially hazardous chemical storage sites.

In Mykolaiv, work is also underway to eliminate the consequences of pollution of the Southern Bug River caused by a spill of vegetable oil after an attack by enemy drones. The incident occurred on the night of December 28, 2024, when the wreckage of a Russian drone fell on the territory of an agricultural enterprise and damaged a tank of sunflower oil.

To clean up the river, experts are using sorbents that accelerate the absorption of oily substances. Sorbent booms were also donated from the community's material reserve and installed by rescuers at the sites of the pollution.

Initially, the pollution covered about 1000 square meters, and the oil layer was one centimeter thick. However, by January 2, the area had grown to 9,000 square meters, and in some places the oil layer reached 10 centimeters thick. The estimated amount of environmental damage caused by this accident is estimated at UAH 6.7 million.

Анна Бальчінос