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Management of Contaminated Sites and Land in Central and Eastern Europe
Latvia
Country Characterisation
Background
In 1991 Latvia regained its political independence. The headquarter of the Northwest forces of the former Soviet army was located in Latvia. Latvia has in total 850 abandoned Soviet military sites, which cover approximately 1000 km², corresponding to approximately 1,6 to 2% of the total country.
By August 1994 all Soviet forces had left the country. Only very few of the ex-Soviet military sites are currently used by the National Army of Latvia.
It is noted that about 70 % of the drinking water come from groundwater abstraction. Maximum effort is devoted to the preservation of the water quality of aquifers for the sustainable utilisation of the groundwater resources.
Total area |
Agricultural areas |
Wooded areas |
Nationally protected areas |
Other areas |
||||
km2 |
km2 |
% |
km2 |
% |
km2 |
% |
km2 |
% |
64589 |
||||||||
| Figure on total area from UN/ECE, 1998. | ||||||||
Population |
Population density |
Annual pop. growth |
Life expectancy at birth |
|||||
1000 |
per km2 |
% |
years |
years |
||||
| 2470 | 38 | -0,87 | 64 | 76 | ||||
| Figures from UN/ECE, 1998, and POPIN, 1999. | ||||||||
Legal and Administrative Basis
Definition of Contaminated Sites and Land
There is no specific definition for contaminated sites and land.
Legislation
The "polluter pays principle" is emphasised in the environmental strategies implemented in the environmental legislation. Besides this, there is no specific legislation that refers to contaminated sites.
The Law "On municipal wastes" contains a provision that producers and holders of municipal waste shall cover costs for the management of waste. Costs for the management of municipal waste shall include costs for the closure of landfill, aftercare of the landfill, and monitoring of the environmental conditions. Landfill manager shall cover all the costs of the closure and aftercare of the landfill. The aftercare period of the closed landfill shall be at least 30 years. It should be stressed that existing legislation have not regulated the closure and aftercare of existing dumpsites.
In accordance with the Law "On municipal waste" regional environmental boards are responsible for the issuing of permits for the disposal of waste and control of the environmental conditions at the landfills and dumpsites.
Implementation of Limit Values
Concerning groundwater and abstraction of groundwater for drinking water purposes, attention is being paid to the EU Drinking Water Directive during the transposition of EU directives into national legislation. At present, however, the former Soviet drinking water standards are still applied in Latvia.
Up to 1997, threshold values had been defined neither for soil nor for groundwater. The Dutch list was most frequently used as reference. The development of target values (clean-up targets) is underway.
Responsible Public Authorities
The first site assessments made after the withdrawing of the Soviet Forces were carried out under the supervision and responsibility of 9 regional committees of the Ministry of the Environment and the Regions.
Registration
In co-operation with the Environment Ministry of Baden-Württemberg (Germany), first attempts towards establishing an inventory of potentially contaminated sites have been made.
In 1996 a pilot project was carried out in the region of Daugavpils, including the city of Daugavpils and the rural areas of Demens and Visku. Objective of the project was to identify all potentially contaminated sites within the test area by carrying out a regional survey and to familiarise the Latvian staff with this methodology. Within the pilot study, 111 sites have been identified as potentially contaminated, being about 13% waste sites, 51% industrial sites, 3% military sites, and 7% diffuse contamination.
Characterisation of Soil and Groundwater Contamination
Sources of Soil and Groundwater Contamination
Although detailed information is limited, it is broadly known that severe environmental impacts occur at former military training areas and shooting ranges. Typical contamination patterns are unexploded mines, bomb residues, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and residues deriving from waste incineration. Other typical contamination patterns are fuel contamination at missile bases and sediment contamination at marine bases.
In some areas, the quality of the shallow groundwater or well water is contaminated due to various point sources including livestock farms, fertiliser storage sites, landfills, fuel storage sites, and leaching from intensively cultivated land (mineral fertilisers and manure). E.g. in some areas shallow groundwater can no longer be used as source of drinking water due to high levels of contamination with oil products.
Number of Registered Contaminated Sites / Contaminated Land Areas
Preliminary assessment: Immediately after the withdrawing of the Soviet Forces, all abandoned sites (850) have been pre-assessed. The first results of this exercise estimated that 300 sites are potentially contaminated, covering an area of approximately 95,920 ha, and hence 96% of the total area used for military purposes.
The 300 military sites have been the basis for preliminary investigations. After a first assessment procedure, the number of affected bases was reduced to 53, covering approximately 58,200 ha. Detailed investigations have been carried out at a few selected sites only, most of which were supported by international joint ventures (see also financing). Up to now only very few military sites have been investigated in detail:
 | A bombed area in Zvarde. |
| A fuel stock in Spilve. |
| A training area in Suzi. |
| The missile bases in Tashi and Barta. |
| The military airport in Lielvarde. |
| The marine harbour of Liepaja. |
| The air force base of Rumbula, Riga. |
| Former Soviet military bases in general. |
Investigation Methods
Identification of Potentially Contaminated Sites and Areas
Procedures for site identification and investigation are not standardised and have usually been carried out on a site-specific base. First attempts towards development of a standard procedure have been made along a joint venture project between Norway and Latvia (see also financing).
Though the preliminary survey is not based on a standard procedure, the following activities are usually included:
| On-site visits with the objective to find out whether chemicals or hazardous wastes has been handled on the site. |
| If necessary investigations concerning the site history. |
| Assessment of available documents and maps. |
| Assessment of satellite maps. |
Investigation of Contaminated Sites and Areas
In 1998, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development accepted a methodology for investigation of groundwater contamination elaborated by the State Geological Survey of Latvia.
Previously, Drinking Water Standards or Surface Water Standards were used to evaluate groundwater quality. Major mistakes were made when natural hydrogeochemical anomalies were identified as cases of contamination. On the other hand, actually occurring groundwater contamination was not defined as such due to high Permissible Value valid for specific parameters.
Therefore, a new system for evaluation of groundwater contamination categories has been developed. This system is based on following principles / assumptions:
- Background chemistry of shallow groundwater and upper confined aquifers is defined.
- Sensitivity of most popular methods of chemical analyses is used in definition of the different contaminant categories.
- Correlation between different contaminants present within major types of contaminant plumes is utilised.
In order to define the typical background chemistry, thousands of chemical analyses of groundwater samples, collected during hydrogeological mapping of Latvia and during groundwater monitoring, were evaluated.
On this basis, it is recommended to use three border concentrations / values for evaluation of the degree of groundwater contamination (see the table below.):
| Corresponding to the natural background (A-values). |
| Corresponding to the maximum natural concentration or to detection level for micropollutants (B-values). |
| Corresponding to the lower limit of strong contamination (C-values). |
| Parameters | A |
B |
C |
||
| Major ions and contamination characterising parameters | TDS | mg/l |
500 |
900* |
3 000 |
| Na+ | - |
40 |
70* |
1 000 |
|
| K+ | - |
7 |
12* |
30 |
|
| Ca2+ | - |
100 |
180* |
600 |
|
| Mg2+ | - |
40 |
80* |
200 |
|
| Cl- | - |
50 |
100* |
1 000 |
|
| SO42- | - |
60 |
140* |
1 000 |
|
| N-NH4+ | - |
0.5 |
3* |
20 |
|
| N-NO2- | - |
0.03 |
0.4 |
1 |
|
| N-NO3- | - |
1 |
4 |
20 |
|
| Ntot. | - |
3 |
10* |
50 |
|
| P-PO43- | - |
0.2 |
0.5* |
2 |
|
| COD-Cr | mg O2/l |
40 |
100* |
300 |
|
| BOD5 | - |
3 |
10* |
20 |
|
| Heavy metals | Zn | µ g/l |
100 |
200 |
800 |
| Cu | - |
10 |
50 |
200 |
|
| As | - |
10 |
50 |
100 |
|
| Cr | - |
10 |
50 |
200 |
|
| Ni | - |
10 |
50 |
200 |
|
| Pb | - |
2 |
30 |
100 |
|
| Cd | - |
0.3 |
3 |
10 |
|
| Hg | - |
0.01 |
0.5 |
2 |
|
| Oil products | Total mineral oil | µ g/l |
- |
1 000 |
5 000 |
| Benzene | - |
- |
Det. limit |
30 |
|
| Toluene | - |
- |
- |
200 |
|
| Xylenes | - |
- |
- |
100 |
|
| Other contaminants | SSAS | µ g/l |
- |
20 |
200 |
| Phenols | - |
2 |
10* |
50 |
|
| Chlorinated hydrocarbons | - |
- |
Det. limit |
70 |
|
| Pesticides total | - |
- |
- |
5 |
|
*
For areas characterised by hydrogeochemical anomalies, the maximum natural concentrations of the marked parameters should be used (see table below).Remark: The A, B and C values are valid only for aquifers depth not exceeding 100 m.
Actions |
|||||
Category |
Water quality class | Additional investigation | Monitoring |
Sanctions |
Remediation and localisation |
< A |
Not contaminated, good natural quality Slightly contaminated or poor natural quality Contaminated Strongly contaminated |
Not needed |
|||
A - B |
Reason of poor quality should be determined | Not needed |
Justified 1) |
Not needed |
|
B - C |
Contaminant | Needed 2) |
Justified 3) |
Needed 2) |
|
> C |
distribution and spectrum should be investigated | Needed |
Justified |
Needed |
|
1)
Only after identification of contamination source and determination of background chemistry.2)
If contaminant plume is threatening water intakes and ecologically important objects.3)
After determination of background chemistry.Based on the border concentrations A, B and C as defined above, classification of the degree of groundwater contamination is proposed. Actions needed for confinement of contamination, depending on contamination degree and its impact on nearest ecologically important objects are recommended. The type of action recommended in each case could be additional investigations, monitoring, sanctions or remediation.
Various anomalies of the natural groundwater quality are caused by salt water intrusion, mineral water intrusion and also dissolution of gypsum and decomposition of peat and marine silt. Information characterising typical, natural hydrogeochemical anomalies in Latvia is summarised in the table below.
| Origin | Parameters | Maximum concentration (B value) |
|
| Salt water intrusion | TDS | mg/l |
10 000 |
| Na+ | - |
3 000 |
|
| Mg2+ | - |
200 |
|
| Cl- | - |
6 000 |
|
| and other marine origin compounds proportional of dilution degree | |||
| Mineral water intrusion in tectonic fault zones | TDS | mg/l |
2 200 |
| Na+ | - |
300 |
|
| K+ | - |
23 |
|
| Ca2+ | - |
280 |
|
| Mg2+ | - |
130 |
|
| Cl- | - |
900 |
|
| SO42- | - |
500 |
|
| Dissolution of gypsum | TDS | mg/l |
3 000 |
| Ca2+ | - |
700 |
|
| SO42- | - |
1 800 |
|
| Decomposition of peat or marine silt | Ntot. | mg/l |
15 |
| N-NH4+ | - |
10 |
|
| P-PO43- | - |
3 |
|
| Phenols | - |
0.03 |
|
| COD–Cr | mg O2/l |
150 |
|
| BOD5 | - |
20 |
|
The practical aspects regarding the recommendations for investigations of groundwater contamination are as follows:
| Collection of existing data and inspection of the object. |
| Design of the monitoring network and installation of wells. |
| Groundwater sampling. |
| Spectrum of parameters analysed. |
| Specific methods of investigation of groundwater contamination such as surface and well geophysics, tracers, techniques, etc. |
| Basic requirements for reporting. |
| Calculation of the volume of contaminated groundwater and contaminants mass. |
| Field investigation including design of wells, drilling and completion of wells and well sampling depends on type of leachate, source of contamination, hydrogeological conditions and phase of investigation. |
Type of leachate
Two major types of leachate are considered: Leachate containing mineral and other compounds characterised by density >1,0 kg/l and leachate with oil products with density <1,0 kg/l. Depending on the type of leachate different depth of filter installation and different sampling methodologies are recommended.
Source of contamination
There are different types of point sources. Small landfills with homogenous type of waste, gasoline stations and other sources with narrow range of contaminants belong to one group, while large factories with different productions and waste generation belong to another group. Different requirements will be valid for design of monitoring network for the two types of point sources.
Hydrogeological set-up
The degree of homogeneity within the geological profile, presence of low-permeable layers, type of aquifer (porous or fractured), thickness of the upper aquifer and permeability distribution within the geological profile are important factors, which have to be taken into account during the selection of investigation procedures, design of network, completion of the individual wells and selection of sampling procedures.
Phase of investigation
Four phases of investigation of groundwater pollution are identified: Preparatory, provisional, detailed and specific. It is important to differentiate between scientific investigations and investigations necessary for the design of remedial actions. Different methodologies may be appropriate during different phases of investigations. The investigations should be performed in such a way that wells and / or other hardware utilised in the investigation phase can be used in the future monitoring network.
Proposed standards
Standards for groundwater sampling procedures as well as documentation forms have been proposed. Three major cases are given as examples: Deep well with high specific yield, shallow well with medium specific yield and shallow well with small specific yield.
A part of a document prepared for the ministry is devoted to discussions of principles for selection of a reasonable spectrum of parameters for analysis depending on the source of pollution. This question is very important: The spectrum of parameters has to be sufficient for reliable determination of the contamination plume, and from the other side, the number of parameters should be limited in order to reduce the investigation costs. Among others, general parameters and specific compounds characteristic for typical sources of contamination are discussed in the document.
Facilities for Contaminated Soil
Handling and Treatment of Excavated Contaminated Soil
Up till now, no facilities exist for treatment or proper depositing of contaminated soil.
Measures Used by Remediation of Soil and Groundwater Contamination
No data available
Financing and Liability
Investigation and Remediation Activities
Concerning military sites, identification and investigation of military sites was funded by the national budget up to 1997. For clean-up measures no resources were available from the government. Detailed investigations have been carried out at a few selected sites only, most of which were supported by international joint ventures, among them are:
| A bombed area in Zvarde. Funded by the UK know-how fund. Constancy to the local farmers on cultivation of the border zones of the former Soviet bombing test area. |
| A fuel stock in Spilve. Supported by an US-Latvian Joint company. The project included the first remediation of a military site in Latvia. |
| A training area in Suzi. |
| The missile bases in Tashi and Barta. Co-operation of the Canadian Ministry of the Environment and the University of Riga. Major objective: Training of local staff. |
| The military airport in Lielvarde. Supported by the German Environment Ministry. Major objective: Detailed risk assessment. |
| The marine harbour of Liepaja, contaminated sediments. Supported by the European Union's PHARE programme. Major objective: Environmental impact study to assess environmental problems involved in the planned harbour enlargement. |
| The airforce base of Rumbula, Riga. Co-operation of Danish and Latvian engineering companies, and the Latvian Environment Ministry. Objective: Remediation of soil and groundwater. |
| Former Soviet military bases in general: Joint venture of Norwegian and Latvian Organisations (Ministries, Geological Surveys). Objective: Assessment of former Soviet bases. |
Legal Requirements re. Polluters and Site Owners
Legal requirements regarding owners of landfill are set by the Law "On municipal waste" and Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers "On the siting, construction and management of landfills". The Law "On municipal waste" requires owners and managers of the landfills to:
- Receive permit for disposal of municipal and comparable waste.
- Carry out management of the landfill in accordance with requirements set in the permit, in this Law and other legal acts.
- Register amount (volume), origin and mode of transportation of municipal waste disposed of at the landfill.
- Provide state and municipal institutions with required information on the management of the landfill site.
- Organise closure of the disposal site in accordance with this law and other legal acts.
- Cover the costs for closure of landfill if that is stated in the agreement.
The regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers "On the siting, construction and management of landfills" sets requirements for the siting, construction and management of the landfill, including preparation of feasibility study, requirements for the construction of the different elements of the landfill (leachate collection system, insulation layers, drainage system). The regulations require the manager of the landfill to prepare technical passport and operation manual for the landfill. The operation of the landfill shall be in accordance with the permit issued by the regional environmental board. Included in the permit are descriptions of the types of waste, which shall be accepted at the landfill. The managers of the landfill shall prepare a yearly report on the management of the landfill and submit it to the regional environmental board and to the municipality, where the landfill is located. The Landfill manager is responsible for the organisation of the closure procedure.
Regarding the pollution there is set a tax on the use of natural resources (including landfilling of waste). Tax is paid for the landfilled waste.
The legislation does not contain special provisions for the enforcement, but sufficient provisions are made in the Administrative Violations Code and Criminal law. The Administrative Violations Code regulates three kinds of violations:
- Land or water pollution with industrial or municipal wastes.
- Violation of regulations on waste transportation, disposal or liquidation of wastes.
- Violation of operation regulations for the industrial, municipal or other waste landfills that have polluted or might pollute the environment.
Also, the Criminal Law contains several articles regarding waste management:
- For violation of collection, sorting, disposal, transportation, utilisation, deposition or liquidation of hazardous waste regulations if the violation is repeated second time in a period of one year or if violation has caused significant damage to the environment, human health, property or business interests.
- For violation of regulations on hazardous waste import in Latvia or for hazardous waste transit through Latvia.
- For pollution of land and water with waste.
Scope of the Problem
Scale of the Problem and Handling Costs
No data available
Priority in Relation to Other Societal Problems
No data available
Illustrative Cases
In Latvia, there are many cases of contamination of the shallow Quaternary aquifer but only few cases of major contamination of the Devonian aquifer. Until the 1990-ties, many local networks were established for monitoring of point pollution and hundreds samples were taken every year and collected in State Geological Archives. In addition to groundwater sampling, other methods were used to control the extension of the contaminant plumes, and the most popular investigation type was the geoelectrical profiling and sounding. However, some locations, as for example military facilities, were never investigated during Soviet time – which was very unsatisfactory.
The present situation is unsatisfactory as well. In spite of the fact that the local Environmental Protection Boards have the authority to order an investigation and monitoring of groundwater contamination cases, very little is done. It is caused by a combination of absence of necessary equipment, poor financing, insufficient of the local personnel and lack of experience and insufficient guidance and support from the central authorities. But most of all, the legislation within this field is only being made and no clear guidance can be provided.
Several private firms conduct investigation of groundwater contamination around facilities providing transport, storage and handling of oil products (terminals, gasoline filling stations, etc.) on request of the owners of these facilities. In such cases the requirements of Environmental Protection Boards can be meet. However, that kind of investigation can not be regarded as monitoring due to lack of unified investigation procedure, as well as procedures for data treatment, storage and publication. At the same time, no monitoring of old dumpsites established by factories, which do not exist any longer, is made.
At present, several groundwater pollution spots have been identified where the groundwater quality differs radically from the natural state. The main areas of groundwater pollution are solid waste disposal sites (Getlini in Riga, Kudra in Jurmala, Deimena in Daugavpils), liquid toxic waste ponds (Olaine, Incukalns, Jelgava), agrochemical warehouses (Iecava, Ventspils, Jelgava), oil storage sites (Jaunmilgravis, Tukums), and former Soviet military bases (Rumbula, Barta, Spilve, Factory No 177 in Riga).
Serious artesian groundwater pollution is found around the Incukalns disposal site for sulphuric acid tar, the Jurmala municipal waste disposal site, Kudra, the Riga waste disposal site, Getlini, and the Tukums oil storage site.
Only the three most hazardous cases of local contamination are covered by the state monitoring programme. There are two sulphuric tar waste pools in the vicinity of Incukalns, the waste pool containing chemical-pharmaceutical waste in Olaine, and the landfill of city Riga in Getlini. Local monitoring at these sites is carried out by the State Geological Survey of Latvia. These three worst cases of groundwater contamination in Latvia are characterised in the table below.
References
Information provided by Inga Gavena at the State Geological Survey of Latvia and Ieva Rucevska at the Environmental Data Centre in Latvia. April 7, 1999.
Baltic Environmental Forum (1998). Baltic State of the Environment Report Based on Environmental Indicators. Baltic Environmental Forum, Riga, Latvia.
Lautner, P. (1997). Entwicklung einer für Lettland angepaßten Erhebungsmethodik (Development of a Country Specific Site Identification Methodology). In Statusbericht Altlasten - Band 27 Handbuch Altlasten und Grundwasserschadensfälle, pp. 113 – 123. Landesanstalt für Umweltschutz, Karlsruhe, Germany.
POPIN (Population Information Network) (1999). The Demography of Countries with Economies in Transition. At gopher://gopher.undp.org/00/ungophers/popin/wdtrends.
Schaefer, K.W., F. Bieren, et al. (1997). Internationale Erfahrungen der Herangehensweise an die Erfassung, Erkundung Bewertung und Sanierung Militärischer Altlasten. Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environment Agency), volume 1 and 2, Berlin, Germany.
UN/ECE Statistical Division (1998). Trends in Europe and North America. 1998 Statistical Yearbook of the UN/ECE. At http://www.unece.org/stats/trend/trend_h.htm. Based on figures from 1994 – 1997.
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