Case: Prevention of import and further incineration of hazardous wastes (acid tar)

Region: Ukraine

Essence of case: Protection of the right to safe and healthy environment.

Essence of problem: During recent years over 20 000 tons of hazardous wastes were imported from Hungary into the territory of Ukraine

Main facts:
In 2003 hazard wastes were imported from Hungary into the territory of Lviv oblast. They included 3 044 tons of maleic anhydride residues and 2 996 tons of acid tar residues. The tar residues were brought to Dobrotvir Thermal Power Station for incineration, and the maleic anhydride residues to Drogobych city.
Import and further incineration of hazardous wastes in the territory of Ukraine contradict the requirements of the national legislation and international law. Import and incineration of these wastes threatened the environment and human health.
The producer and exporter of these wastes turned to be a Hungarian company MOL that acted through intermediaries from Hungary and USA. It seems that the actual aim of wastes import was its disposal (burning) on the territory of Ukraine. That contradicts the requirements of Ukrainian legislation and international law, in particular, provisions of Articles 4 and 9 of Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1989).

After our appeals the Ministry of Environment of Ukraine stopped approval of wastes import, preventing additional import of 60 000 - 70 000 tons of wastes.

We also applied to the Council of National Security and Defence of Ukraine, the Head of the Committee of Supreme Council of Ukraine on Environment Policy, Environmental Management and Elimination of Chernobyl Accident Results, the General Prosecutor, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Environment, and oblast state administration requesting to ban incineration of wastes and to re-export these wastes. After the numerous commissions of tar residues incineration on Dobrotvir Thermal Power Station, the incineration has been prohibited.