Most Chemically Polluted City on Earth? Chemical Weapons Contamination Legacy in Dzerzhinsk, Russia Macaulay Honors Students: Tala Azar and Nicholas Randazzo Instructor: Dr. Angelo Lampousis, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, City College of New York, City University of New York Abstract The Pollutants Political Challenges
Dzerzhinsk was once a clandestine manufacturing center for Soviet chemical ● 190 different chemicals were discharged into the environment. Of these 190, ● Many of the town’s citizens are already aware of the pollution, but nothing gets weapons such as Sarin, Lewisite and VX nerve gas [1]. Between 1930 and 40% were considered highly toxic [8]. done [8]. 1998, 300,000 tons of chemical waste were disposed of at the site [2]. ● Dioxins and phenols are present in concentrations 17 million times the EPA ● The administration often lies to the public about the extent of contamination and Dzerzhinsk continues to be a center for chemical manufacturing, although the threshold limit [8]. is defensive towards media that spreads information about the pollution [8]. This city no longer produces weaponry [1]. The city is now considered the most ● Sulfur dioxide in the air is also an issue. These particles penetrate deep into shows the government’s blatant disregard for the city’s well-being and the chemically polluted town in the world [1]. Improperly disposed chemicals leak sensitive parts of the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory disease, health of its citizens. into the soil and groundwater and seep into crops, causing extreme pollution such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can aggravate existing heart ● The plant operators of the older factories know they are destroying the air and which is adversely affecting public health [3]. To help solve the pollution problem, diseases [7]. water, but their main concern is keeping their workers employed. They also we plan to build a community center and help the city create an application to be ● Health effects of phenols: irritation of eyes, skin, and mucous membranes; cannot afford modern equipment [8].
named an environmental disaster zone. This would encourage cleaner industry chronic exposure can result in liver and kidney damage [5]. and limit future pollution. ● Health effects of dioxins: reproductive, endocrine, and immune system damage; can cause cancer [6]. ● Due to the extent of contamination, cleaning the city’s pollution is nearly Figure 9: A closer look at part of the White Sea. For an aerial view, see Figure 8. Chemical impossible. pollution & Conclusion fatal health effects in the ● Due to the economy’s dependence on the chemical industry,
Factories population Dzerzhinsk’s chemical pollution problem has to be addressed by pay workers & dealing with both the ecology and the economy. This is why being don’t have money to Media & news named an environmental disaster zone is so important. install coverage ● Although the extent of pollution is too extreme to clean, we can help Figure 4: Sulfur dioxide updates reduce future contamination and ensure that individuals are aware Figure 5: Phenol of the pollution and its effects through learning at the community center. ● As part of the immediate actions, we recommend the imposition of Citizens Administration continue engineering controls, such as restricting civilian access to heavily blames media Figure 8: Dzerzhinsk’s White Sea- a 100 acre lake of chemical sludge three feet deep, which was a working & contaminated areas. & hides secret until 1991. For a closer look, see Figure 9. ensure the information ● While it is unlikely that the pollution can ever be fully cleaned up, our factories’ People are from citizens long term solution, along with engineering controls, can help survival immune to mitigate the problem and prevent the pollution from worsening. warnings Figure 6: 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, a highly toxic dioxin about Proposed Solution chemical References pollution Our proposed solution focuses on education and helping the city become a greener one in the future through the building of a community center. Unfortunately, Human, Economic, & Geographic Data cleaning the pollution is nearly impossible due to the high degree of chemical [1] Groundwater Pollution in Pyra. (n.d.). Retrieved November Figure 1: The Cycle of Pollution in Dzerzhinsk contamination. The four aspects of our solution are presented in Table 1. ● Population: approximately 234,000 [8] 1, 2015, from http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/projects/ display/170 ● Land area: 421 square kilometers [8] Location Maps [2] “Top 10 Toxic Threats.” Worstpolluted.org. Blacksmith ● One major geographical feature is the “White Sea,” a 100 acre lake of chemical Table 1: Benefits of a Community Center in Dzerzhinsk sludge three feet deep, shown in Figures 8 and 9. Institute, n.d. Web. Retrieved October 4, 2015, from
Public Health Data younger generation, who haven’t doctors, and public policy makers, rainbowwarrior2005.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/a-few-of-the- to help kickstart the center yet been taught to ignore the worlds-most-polluted-places/ ● Babies have birth defects at three times the Russian national rate [4]. pollution [5] Phenol. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2015, from http:// ● High levels of phenols have led to increased levels of diseases and cancers www3.epa.gov/airtoxics/hlthef/phenol.html
100100 miles miles of the eyes, lungs, and kidneys, causing life expectancy to plummet to 47 Building of a [6] Dioxins and Their Effect on Human Health. (2014, June 1).
Figure 2: Eastern Europe years of age for women and 42 for men [2]. Community Center Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://www.who.int/ ● The death rate exceeds the birth rate by 260% [2]. mediacentre/factsheets/fs225/en/ N in Dzerzhinsk
Bring in Cleaner Industry [7] Health - Sulfur Dioxide. (n.d.). Retrieved from http:// Provide Citizens with Alternative - Help the city to properly file its www3.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/health.htm Options application to be named an [8] Habitual Risk Taking in Dzerzhinsk: Daily Life in the Capital - Provide a service that helps environmental disaster zone. This of Soviet Chemistry. (2007). Research in Social Problems and individuals find and access other will enable the city to give federal places outside of Dzerzhinsk to live, Public Policy, 14, 223-252. Retrieved October 21, 2015 tax breaks to cleaner industries if they so desire that move into the area - This includes helping them find work - Over time, this initiative will limit to ensure their financial stability Acknowledgements future pollution and allow the city’s - Impose engineering controls (e.g., economy to shift away from a We would like to thank Professor Lampousis for his very helpful fencing) to prevent direct contact of 2 miles dependence on outdated factories suggestions throughout this entire project. We would also like to thank the population with contamination. Pure Earth for providing the initial inspiration to tackle Dzerzhinsk. Figure 3: Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, the district that contains Dzerzhinsk. Dzerzhinsk is about 230 miles from Russia’s capital city of Moscow. Figure 7: One goal of the center is community involvement and discussion