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Assessment of Mercury Releases from the Russian Federation

Annex 2 Storage of Mercury-containing Pesticides

The following annex include examples of storage of obsolete mercury-containing pesticides in certain regions.

Mercury containing pesticides in Tverskaya oblast

Tverskaya oblast is located in the north-west of Russia. It is contiguous with Vologodskaya oblast in the north, Novgorodskaya oblast in the north-west, Pskovskaya oblast in the west, Smolenskyay and Moscow oblasts in the south and Yaroslavskaya oblast in the east.

The oblast's area is 84.23 th. km2. Forests, bushes, rivers, lakes and bogs occupy 48% of the area, and agricultural lands constitute about 44%.

The main watershed between basins of the Caspian Sea and the Baltic Sea runs along the oblast territory. Most rivers gravitate to the Upper Volga, and the Meta, Tsna and Shlina rivers in the north-west belong to Ilmen Lake basin, and the rivers of the Zadandaya Dvina basin spring from the south-west of oblast. The river network densely and evenly covers the oblast's territory and includes about 450 rivers more than 10 km long, including 55 rivers – more than 50 km long and 19 – more than 100 km.

There are many lakes and peatbogs in the north-west, east-west and center of the oblast. Natural water reservoirs are represented by many glacial lakes in the north-west hilly area. Tverskaya oblast totally includes about 600 water bodies (including large number of individual lakes), the biggest of which is Seliger Lake with 208 km2 water-surface area. Small lakes (blind, closed lakes with waterlogged banks and sludgy bottoms) are overgrowing.

Tverskaya oblast is distinguished for unique natural resources. The total area of the specially protected areas is 403.8 th. hectares, including zapovednics of federal significance - 42.2 th. hectares, Zavidovo state reservoir - 68.7 th. hectares, preserves of regional significance - 292.9 th. hectares.

The accumulated considerable amounts of prohibited and outdated pesticides stored basically in storehouses (only 4 of which are standard ones) seriously endanger the environment. Moreover, 72% of the storehouses are build of wood in 70-80-ies and now are tumbledown, and therefore the number of the storehouses appropriate for certification has been decreasing from year to year: from 51% in 2000 down to 44% in 2001. Only 34% of available storehouses have been certified by 02.06.03. Such situation has resulted in poor conditions of pesticides storage, including organomercuric chemicals (agrosan, agronal, granosan, radosan, fungotox) not complying with sanitary requirements (SanPiN 1.2.1077-01). Data on mercury containing pesticides quantities is presented in the Table 1.

Table 1 Inventory of mercury containing pesticides in Tverskaya oblast since 1999 to 2003

Note: * - the data for 1999 – 2001 covers only mercury containing chemicals (agrosan, agronal, granosan, radosan, fungotox); 2002 – 2003 data includes mercury containing mixtures determined during the pilot project implementation, as after re-packing all sodium TÕA, simazin and other mixtures containing just even traces of mercury were related to mercury containing ones.

Further storage of prohibited outdated pesticides is very dangerous for environment and health and requires taking the urgent measures. The danger is also connected with inability of companies and enterprises to pay for repair and guarding of the dilapidated storehouses in time. Such situation leads to fires caused by grass firing in spring time. In April – May of the current year 5 pesticides storehouses were ignited in Lihoslavlsky, Kalyazinsky, Selizharovsky and Spirovsky regions. The worn-out installations (roofing slate, doors, wood boards, brick) are plundered. The damaged pesticides storehouses had been repaired, locked, tidied up, re-labeled, but after a time were broken in and robbed again, re-packed and labeled pesticides were damaged, the chemicals spilled endangering the environmental health.

During the latest years the agricultural enterprises have been being split up and restructured. Some companies cease their activity, and the chemicals storehouses become ownerless (Rameshkovsky region, Tuchevsky and Beman enterprises).

In compliance with the Resolution of the Oblast Governor No. 195 dated 24.04.2000 On Inventory and utilization of the outdated and prohibited pesticides, in 2000-2001 the first phase of the pilot project was implemented, the outdated and prohibited pesticides available in the oblast enterprises were inventoried, and the identification of unknown pesticides was carried out showing large amount of mercury containing mixtures (14,036 t in 2003), as well as availability of arsenic-containing pesticides - sodium arsenite, Paris green (0.46 t in total).

Unfortunately the next phases of the outdated pesticides utilization activities were not implemented due to lack of financing.

Tverskaya oblast has 556 chemical pest-killers storehouses, only 5 of them (in Agropromchemia Association) are of standard parameters (Ref.: В.А. Синода, Л.Ф. Михайлова,, 2000). The oblast was visited on May 19-20, 2003. The oblast plants protection point has collected data on mercury containing pesticides in 36 oblast's regions. In 2002, 203 storehouses or 47.6% (47.4% - in 2000, 50.2% - in 2001) out of 426 pesticides storehouses subjected to certification obtained the sanitary-epidemiological certificates.

The State Sanitary-Epidemiological Service controls pesticides and agrochemicals turnover. The applied may be only the chemicals included into the State Register of pesticides and agricultural chemicals permitted for application in Russian Federation in 2002 agreed with RF Ministry of Health. 74 of more than 80 titles of pesticides and agrochemicals declared by the oblast plants protection point were permitted for application.

The problem concerning utilization of the outdated and prohibited pesticides and agrochemicals is still exists. The administrations of 9 oblast's regions and centers of the State Sanitary-Epidemiological Service, agrochemical services all together managed to delivery more than 41.8 tonnes of the outdated pesticides for burial outside the oblast's borders. For today, 388.2 tonnes require utilization, including 151.1 tonnes of Class 1 pesticides (incl. mercury containing ones).

The State Sanitary-Epidemiological Service suspended operation of 181 pesticides storehouses in towns and regions of the oblast, imposed 19 fines, issued 202 prescriptions, drawn up 261 statements of sanitary-epidemiological inspection of the chemical pest-killers storage conditions.

Following the proposal of the Center of the State Sanitary-Epidemiological Service in Tversakay oblast, the Department on Social and Economic Development of Rural Areas under the administration prepared Practical Guidelines on use and storage of plant protection chemicals in agricultural enterprises of Tverskaya oblast for 2002-2004.

In the frameworks of UNEP Chemical Project the inventory of the outdated pesticides financed by the administration was carried out in the oblast. With this purpose, in 2000 – 2001 Tver oblast plants protection point analyzed 1200 samples of pesticides. Presently there is information on 5 mercury containing pesticides available in 26 regions and not used in 6 regions of the oblast (see Table 2).

Table 2 List of regions in Tverskaya oblast storing organomercuric pesticides (by 01.03.2003).

Note: the mercury containing pesticides were not used in 6 regions.

The oblast has 27.2 tonnes of mercury containing pesticides, the greater part of which is stored on the landfill in Torzhoksky region – 3.8 tonnes. Taking this into account, Torzhoksky region has been investigated more comprehensively.

Pesticides landfill in Torzhoksky region.

The landfill area is equal to 0.8 hectares, it is located in 600 m from the road. The landfill was designed in 1976 by request of Selkhoztehnica oblast association and in compliance with the Temporary Instructions on nonapplicable pesticides and pesticides containers destruction. The soil of the landfill is poorly filtering with 21 m deep groundwater. Pesticides and containers are buried in 5 m deep trenches with clay insulated bottom and walls. The bottom is covered with prefabricated concrete iron slabs, the clay lock is 1 m thick. The trench filled with pesticides is covered with 1 m thick clay layer.

The designed top of the waterproofing cover should be 0.5 m higher than the adjoining territory top level, but this was not confirmed during the inspection. The territory is overgrown with woods, the gates are not installed. The inspection well formerly used from groundwater sampling for mercury detection is not operated. The design of the inspection well's drilling envisages possibility of the aquifer contamination. According to the data of the plants protection point, the surface water doesn't contain mercury, but there are no data on the groundwater composition.

The distance from the landfill to: the Tvertsa River is about 2 km, to summer houses — 3.5 km, to Dobrinino village — 6.0 km.

The inventory of pesticides, including mercury containing ones, was successfully carried out in agricultural enterprises of Staritsky region.

Staritsky region This region has a specialized pesticides burial at the storehouse arranged in 2000 in the frameworks of UNEP Chemical Pilot Project. The pesticides have been identified. Up to 100 kg of granosan were revealed. The Staritsky storehouse is one of the best in the oblast. In 2000 the pesticides were repacked and labeled. Storehouses of the former Agropromhimia association are located in Staritsa Station. 16 barrels with granosan (20 kg each), total - 320 kh + mixtures ~ 100 kg = 420 kg were collected from the collective farms. The brick storehouse 4 m height can contain 300 tonnes of pesticides. The storehouse is guarded.

Rzhevsky region — 130 km from Tver 1.3 t of granosan are stored in 12 storehouses, which are in good condition (they have doors and locks, the roofs don't spring leaks). Each storehouse has a sanitary certificate and is appropriate for storage.

All storehouses are located not closer than 1 km from open water supply sources and comply with sanitary requirements.

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Version 1.0 March 2005, © Danish Environmental Protection Agency