Belarus plans to dispose of mercury-based pesticides soon
"The problem with pesticides in Belarus is manageable. It is not pressing. With regards to the future plans, I can say that first we will remove mercury-based pesticides. Approximately €200,000 will be allocated for these purposes shortly," the minister said. The project will be implemented with the help of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). First, Belarus will remove 26 tonnes of pesticides with high mercury content from Novogrudok District which were formerly stored near the village of Mizgiri, Slonim District.
"The volume of mercury-based pesticides in Belarus exceeds 26 tonnes," said Andrei Shakhemirov, the head of the state ecological examination department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. "But we cannot say the exact numbers because the pesticides are not identified in our country. The repackaging process was conducted since the early 1990s, and back then they could put several types of waste into one container. As we continue repacking such waste, we will take samples and identify mercury-containing pesticides. They will be gradually removed from the country," he said.
The Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection mentioned the joint project of international technical assistance "Improving capacities to eliminate and prevent recurrence of obsolete pesticides as a model for tackling unused hazardous chemicals in the former Soviet Union". Launched in 2014, it is nearing completion. The project is financed by the European Union and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The grant allocated to Belarus for this project was more than €560,000.
The project was aimed at eliminating one of the most troubled storage sites of obsolete pesticides in Belarus - the temporary storage site located in the village of Mizgiri, Slonim District, Grodno Oblast, which contained over 310 tonnes of hazardous waste extracted as a result of the elimination of the Slonim pesticides landfill. The storage site was located less than 600 meters away from the nearest settlement, the village of Mizgiri, and the pesticides kept there had complex chemical composition, including mercury. All this made the site potentially dangerous to human health and the environment, especially in the case of an emergency.
The FAO held an international tender. The French company TREDI was selected as a contractor for the removal of obsolete pesticides. From March to July 2016 the company removed 258 tonnes of obsolete pesticides and destroyed them in a specialized treatment facility in France. Another 26 tonnes of mercury-containing waste, the destruction of which is currently impossible in Europe, were removed and placed at a secure storage site in Novogrudok District, Grodno Oblast. At last, the remaining 26 tonnes will be taken to France by 20 August.
Today there are approximately 10,000 tonnes of pesticides in Belarus. The country has already eliminated three underground storage sites of obsolete pesticides, Kazinform has learnt from BelTA.