TITLE:
Risk Assessment Capacity Building Program in Zaporizhzhia Ukraine: Emissions Inventory Construction, Ambient Modeling, and Hazard Results
AUTHORS:
Jane C. Caldwell, Andrei Serdyuk, Olena Turos, Arina Petrosian, Oleg Kartavtsev, Simon Avaliani, Alexander Golub, Elena Strukova, Michael Brody
KEYWORDS:
Air Pollution; Exposure Modeling; Ukraine; Risk Assessment
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.4 No.12,
December
31,
2013
ABSTRACT: Historically, Ukraine has been a major
source of industrial production for the former Soviet Union and the source of
pollution associated with an aging industrial infrastructure. The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the Ukrainian Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources (MENR) entered into partnership to develop
Ukrainian expertise and capacity in risk assessment so that Ukraine could more
effectively use its National and Regional Environmental Protection Funds and
set priorities for cleanup and regulation. Ukrainian scientists, local
officials, and EPA consultants conducted a pilot study in the heavily
industrialized Zaporizhzhia Oblast so that the process, analytical tools, and
approach for a risk assessment could be developed for and tailored to Ukrainian
needs. As a first step, site-specific information was obtained from multiple
sources of air pollution and an emissions inventory of air pollution developed.
Efforts by local officials were critical for emissions inventory construction.
After refinements were made to the inventory, Ukrainian scientists then
performed exposure modeling using this information so that ambient concentrations
of pollutants could be estimated. 11 industry types (i.e., enterprises) were identified as a major emission source. Results
of the modeling effort demonstrated that emissions estimates of particulate
matter (as measured by particles of less than 10 micron diameter or “PM10”)
and a number of carcinogens were consistent with those from other cities with
high concentrations of metallurgical industries in former Soviet Union
countries, and were above safety standards. Hazard information was gathered
from international databases for each of the estimated pollutants. Using such
data, prioritization and identification of potential health concerns can be
made, but most importantly, the expertise and experience gained from the pilot
allowed for continued support of risk assessment capacity building in the
Ukraine and support by the World Bank.