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Reducing Industrial Pollution in Belarus: Applying Environmental Management Systems

Region: Belarus, Central and Eastern Europe
Author: Safari Environmental Society, Belarus
Consortium Member: Brest Environmental Information Center
Status: Needs Funding Budget: $24200 Collected: $0 Needs: $24200
Goal: To improve water quality, especially in western Belarus, eastern Poland and the Baltic Sea region, by significntly reducing pollution from heavy industries
Comment: Through conscious application of environmental management practices, this project will cut the volume of clean water used for industrial purposes in half, and also reduce the toxicity of the heavy metal discharges

Project Need

As is widely known, Belarus was a major assembling point in the industrial system of the USSR. The numerous machine-building industries in Belarus are the main heavy metal polluters of the environment.

Investigations of recent times have shown that cleaning facilities at these types of enterprises in Brest are non-effective, or absent even in principle.It became the norm to introduce extremely dangerous technologies without appropriate protection of the water sources into production cycles. Enterprises do not comply with requirements to reduce discharge of toxic elements along with waste waters. This leads to eventual leaking of toxic elements into drinking water sources, with consequent health hazards.

Project Aim

The first step in solving this most acute environmental problem should be a qualified examination/inspection of these waste-generating enterprises and their cleaning facilities. Introduction of the basic elements of Environmental Management Systems at the enterprises would reduce the consumption of clean water for the technological needs and consequent discharge of toxic elements. This simultaneously would reduce the need for construction of new cleaning facilities (which is all but impossible anyway in the current conditions of severe economic crisis which so heavily struck Belarus). Using the scientific and technological expertise of highly-qualified specialists, rather than large amounts of capital investment, is a logical and feasible method of improving the state of the environment in transitional countries.

Rivers from Belarus drain into the the Baltic and the Black Sea regions. Thus, significantly reducing the discharge of contaminants from Belarussian enterprise will improve environmental conditions in many other countries.

Project Objectives

1. To greatly decrease the consumption of clean water by heavy industries in the Brest region of Belarus, and consequently also to decrease the volume of waste water requiring treatment
2. To cut in half the amount of toxic ingredients discharged into waste water.
3. To decrease three-fold the need for the use of commercial chemicals in waste water treatment, through improvement of the technologies and processes used in the main industrial cycle
4. To increase the effectiveness and productivity of the existing cleaning facilities; reaching safe levels of heavy metals in waste waters released into the communal cleaning facilities (up to 0.5 mg/l)

1. Studying of the available project, technological and other types of documentation related to waste-generating and relevant cleaning facilities.
2. Acquaintance with the technological processes leading to toxic waste discharge and the cleaning facilities as well.
3. Examination of these technological lines and cleaning facilities.
4. Brain storm for revealing problems and making recommendations on improvement of these lines via introducing elements of environment management systems; decreasing amount of wastes that are to be cleaned; decreasing of volume of toxic elements and getting the highest standards in purification.
5. Providing of scientific and technological help and supervision on fulfillment of recommendations and actual performance of the enterprises.

• Population of the city of Brest and of Brest region, Belarus; population of Eastern Poland.
• Specific target foci: main enterprises of Brest that generate toxic waste: Brest Electromechanical Plant; Brest Plant оf Agricultural Machinery; Brest ElectroTechnical Plant.
• The total amount of toxic waste waters due to be purified comprise up to 190,000 m3 per year (major pollutants – zinc, chromium (mean concentration up to 80 mg/l) , nickel (mean concentration – up to 10 mg/l), lead (mean concentration – up to 15 mg/l), copper, toxic organic substances).

Information about the Organization and Personnel Implementing this Project

The Safari Environmental Society was created in 1992. It is staffed with very competent specialists who elaborated water-protection systems for the biggest enterprises like “Kirov Plant” in St.-Petersburg, Moscow Aviation Plant, etc. Effectiveness of the technologies elaborated by Safari was confirmed by Hoffland Environmental (USA) in 1997.

Personnel

• Project coordinator, Eugene Uretskiy, possesses a considerable experience in the field of projecting, creating and exploitation of cleaning facilities of the enterprises of machine-building and device-building sectors of industry. He has a good command of specific issues related to the galvanic and painting processes. Mr. Uretskiy was in charge of projecting and construction of the cleaning facilities of the biggest enterprise in the system of the Ministry of Radio Electronic Industry of the USSR in 1972-1973(cleaning capacity up to 250 m3/hour).
  From 1973 till 1986 he worked as a head of these cleaning facilities. On the base of the enterprise a technology of “wasteless, dishargeless system of water use at enterprises that produce protecting coatings in machine- and device-building” was elaborated under his guidance. Numerous inventions and know-how that were used in this technology allowed to lessen time of treatment of waste water 5 times, decrease consumption of energy and materials 4 times, and decrease need in many necessary reagents (chemicals). This technology was recommended as the baseline one for usage at all the enterprises of the appropriate sector of the USSR’ industry and was nominated to get an award of the USSR’ Council of Ministers.
  From 1986 till 1991 Mr. Uretskiy worked as a leading specialist in the field of environmental protection and environmental management systems at the Moscow State Project Institute. Under his guidance the water protection complexes of the biggest enterprises of the USSR were elaborated (Kirov Plant in St.Petersbourg, Lionozovo Electromechanical plant in Moscow, etc). With the help of his original methodologies investigation of discharge-generating enterprises of Moscow, St.Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Minsk and others was performed.
  From 1992 till 1996 he was the head of the scientific Laboratory of the Belarusian State Projecting Institute; since 1996 he has been a chief specialist of “Safari”. He is a Corresponding Member of the Belarusian Academy of Technology, and the author of 15 inventions and 45 scientific publications.

• Yuri Sakharuk: from 1987 till 1991 worked as an engineer at the Moscow State Project Institute. He was the responsible executor in the process of elaboration of water protection systems at the biggest industrial enterprises of the USSR (Kirov Plant, Minsk Plant of Electronic Machinery, etc). From 1992 till 1996 he worked as a leading specialist of the scientific Laboratory of the Belarusian State Project Institute. Since 1996, he has been Safari’s director.
  Mr. Sakharuk successfully introduced new technological approach based on the use of environmental management systems at the enterprises of the Belarusian State Railway in the cities of Lida and Baranovitchi.

• Nina Komarova: engineer-technologist of the 1st qualification category, specialist in the field of galvanic coating and painting with 25-years of experience.

Comments on our Methods

The main decrease of pollution levels and wastewater discharge is reached as a result of minor upgrading of the equipment combined with strict enforcement of the technological discipline.

Our experience has shown that these particular questions of environmental performance of enterprises in the USSR and later its descendants were and have been almost totally ignored or regarded as a second-class of importance. This resulted in unjustified high volumes of clean water usage for the technological needs and high levels of pollution in wastewater.

Reasons for increased levels of toxic elements in wastewater:
When details are taken off the technological reservoir, they are not kept above it for 15 seconds period (following this requirement would allow dropping down of 80 % of the technological solution (electrolyte). This problem can be solved via appropriate programming of automatic devices or introducing special fittings when manual control is in place.

A considerable decrease of the electrolyte “taken away” with details can be reached by adding surface active substances into solution. As a result of lessening of surface tension it is possible to decrease amount of chromium getting into wastewater as much as 2 times. Great attention should be given to a problem of positioning details in the galvanic reservoirs. If this point is neglected details may catch a portion of the solution like a mug does and consequently take it to the rinsing baths. This approach also serves to significant decreasing of the amount of pollutants in wastewater.

Reasons for over-usage of clean water for technological needs:
Construction of the piping systems at many rinsing baths is wrong – i.e. water inflows at the upper level and is taken away at the same level. There are no barriers that direct water into the lower part of the baths and stirring with the compressed air as well at the most of enterprises. In these conditions it is necessary to increase the volume of clean water significantly to reach a satisfactory level of the details’ cleaning. According to the acting standards of use of water it is necessary to spend 1000 L to ensure complete rinsing of 1 m2 of the details’ surface. Our experience has shown that this number may be decreased to 50 L.

The following official representatives of major enterprises have demonstrated their readiness to co-operate with “Safari” by signing Protocols of Intentions:

• Zavadski Vladimir Filippovich, Chief Engineer of the Brest Electromechanical Plant;
• Shkurdai Grigory Pavlovich, Director of the Brest Electrotechnical Plant;
• Silakov Yuri Grigoryevich, Chief Engineer of the Brest Plant of Agricultural Machinery.

After an inspection a set of recommendations on technological improvements and introducing EMS elements at the main technology cycle and cleaning facilities will be given to the managers of the enterprise. Its implementation will be carried out under supervision of “Safari”.

Indicators and means of verification of the project's successful implementation at each particular enterprise include:

• Decreasing of water consumption: Water counter
• Decreasing of levels of pollution in wastewater: Protocols of an Analytical Laboratory
• Decreasing of amounts of reagents purchased by the enterprise: Data of the Material Supply Service of the enterprise.

Budget
The requested financing is necessary mainly for functioning of the team of specialists.

Business-trips:	$1200
Participation at conferences, seminars:	$ 200
Honoraria, fees to the team of specialists (10 persons x 12 months):	$18,000
Office equipment, rent of analytical equipment:	$1600
Office rent, communication, purchasing of necessary books:	$1000
Subtotal:	$22,000
Virtual Foundation adminstrative fee:	$2200
Total Requested from the Virtual Foundation:	$24,200