DYNAMIC WATERS OF THE BALTIC SEA IAEA PROJECTS HELP ASSESS THE SEA’S MARINE ENVIRONMENT BY IOLANDA OSVATH,MASSOUD SAMIEI, L.VALKUNAS, AND JOZEF ZLATNANSKY nvironmental protection An almost land-locked water continuous rate, the Baltic Sea’s is a field of growing basin, draining through a large deepest waters are renewed only Eimportance for various number of rivers about one periodically, with a variable IAEA programmes, in fifth of the area of Europe, the frequency determined by particular in the European Baltic Sea is the largest brackish complex meteorological region. Many countries in the (low-salinity) water body in the processes. In this century, region are suffering from world. The slow water major inflows of North Sea serious degradation of the exchange with the North Sea water occurred approximately environment. The share of through the shallow and every 11 years, but this cycle IAEA technical cooperation narrow Danish Straits results in has been known to vary over projects focusing on a long residence time of water the last decades. Between these environmental issues represents in the Baltic Sea of between 25 inflows, anoxic conditions may almost 15% of the total to 40 years. This creates occur in the Baltic’s near- programme for Europe. favorable conditions for the bottom water, leading to the Based on requests from its accumulation of pollutants. formation of hydrogen Member States, the IAEA has In winter the Baltic is largely sulphide, which is toxic to been involved in major projects covered by ice, further slowing organisms. Thus, areas of “dead related to terrestrial, down the weak wind-driven bottom”, devoid of all forms of atmospheric and marine water circulation and benthic or higher life forms, 9 environmental assessment as decreasing the potential for may develop, sometimes well as restoration and pollutant dispersion. Particular covering one-third of the entire remediation activities in several hydrographic conditions area of the sea floor. parts of Europe. They focus on: sustained by the limited water Overimposed on this natural ■ Capacity building; exchange with the rest of the fragility, anthropogenic ■ Assessment of possible world’s oceans and the influences led to further contamination from important inflow of fresh water environmental change and radionuclides as a priority issue favor the persistence of oxygen- degradation. Over 16 million among other pollutants, related depleted bottom waters, people live on the coast and to the Chernobyl accident and inappropriate for supporting about 80 million in the sea’s the risk associated to other marine life. As opposed to its catchment area. The coastline is nuclear facilities; shallower waters, which are shared between nine countries: ■ Increased coordination with renewed at a slow but Denmark, Estonia, Finland, (and participation in) international environmental Ms. Osvath is a staff member at the IAEA’s Marine Environment projects. Laboratory in Monaco. Mr. Samiei is Head of the Europe Section, The Baltic Sea area has been Division for Europe, Latin America and West Asia, Department of no exception and for several Technical Cooperation. Mr. Zlatnansky is a staff member of that years has had the IAEA’s section. Mr. Valkunas is the Director of the Institute of Physics in attention. This paralleled the Vilnius, Lithuania. Acknowledgment: Part of the information in this growing awareness and concern article is drawn from publications of the Helsinki Commission, such of Baltic countries about the as the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of environmental state of the the Baltic Sea Area, The Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Baltic Sea, which has become a Environmental Action Programme, The Baltic Sea Pollution Load major issue during the past Compilations and the report on Radioactivity in the Baltic Sea 1984- three decades. 91 (BSEP 61, 1995). IAEA BULLETIN, 43/2/2001 environmental situation in THE BALTIC SEA & CATCHMENT AREA many parts of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is a shallow semi-enclosed sea with an area of 415,000 Pollution from ships and square kilometers, and a maximum depth of 460 meters. The ship accidents, practices related catchment area extends over 1.7 million square kilometers and an to fishing and fish farming average of 480 cubic kilometers of freshwater is discharged into the and, more important, sea every year. Almost half of this inflow drains through the seven atmospheric inputs of largest rivers: Neva, Vistula, Daugava, Nemunas, Kemijoki, Oder pollutants also contributed to and Göta älv. further disturbing the ecological balance. Harmful or toxic and persistent substances (e.g. PCBs, DDT, PAHs, polychlorinated compounds, pesticides, mercury), nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen compounds causing eutrophication), heavy metals, radionuclides and hydrocarbons have been the main causes of concern. The type and amount of pollutants reaching the Baltic Sea, as well as the scale of the impacted areas, varied in time. But in the early 1990s, experts appreciated that the Sea’s 10 pollution had become a threat to its living resources and ultimately to the health and well-being of the human population depending on its resources. REGIONAL COLLABORATION In the wake of the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, in 1974 the governments of the littoral States of the Baltic Sea signed the Baltic Marine Environmental Protection Convention, known as the Helsinki Convention, which Source: Helsinki Commission entered into force in 1980. The steering agency for the Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, industrial and agricultural Convention is the Helsinki Poland, Russia and Sweden. wastes and poorly treated or Commission – Baltic Marine The catchment area, however, even untreated wastewater Environment Protection also extends over parts of from communities through the Commission (HELCOM). Belarus, the Czech Republic, tributary rivers or directly into The Contracting Parties to the Norway, the Slovak Republic the sea have caused a serious Convention include the nine IAEA BULLETIN, 43/2/2001 and Ukraine. Discharges of deterioration of the countries sharing the Baltic coastline and the European The Convention sets the comprehensive reports on the Community. framework for the adoption of Baltic Sea’s marine The Baltic Sea Declaration -- legislative, administrative and environment and pollution establishing the long-term other relevant measures to load compilations. The “4th objective of ensuring the prevent and eliminate Periodic Assessment of the ecological restoration of the pollution in order to restore State of the Marine Baltic Sea and the preservation and promote the ecological Environment of the Baltic Sea, of its ecological balance -- was balance of the Baltic Sea Area. 1994-1998” has been finalized adopted at the level of Prime The Action Programme and will be published shortly. Ministers at the Baltic Sea addresses these issues by In a press release in March Environment Conference in identifying problems and 2001, HELCOM reported on Ronneby (Sweden), in 1990. priority actions in all countries this latest study’s findings. It Two years later the Diplomatic within the Baltic Sea said the study shows that the Conference on the Protection catchment area. The actions taken by the Baltic Sea of the Marine Environment of Programme encompasses both countries to protect the marine the Baltic Sea Area adopted the preventive actions to promote environment are going in the Baltic Sea Environmental sustainable use of the Baltic right direction, but that the Declaration. It endorsed the Sea environment and curative efforts need to be continued strategic approach and actions to remediate the and intensified, with particular principles of the Baltic Sea existing environmental attention to sustainable Joint Comprehensive Action degradation due to pollution economic growth. Programme. from point and diffuse sources. Many international The strategy is based on STUDIES OF organizations, among them the development of appropriate RADIOACTIVITY IN IAEA, and financial environmental policies and THE BALTIC SEA institutions were invited, as legislation, implementation of The main sources of observers, to attend this key regulatory reforms, promotion anthropogenic radionuclides to 11 Diplomatic Conference in of economic incentives to the Baltic Sea are global fallout 1992. The same occasion also encourage environmentally from nuclear weapons testing, saw the signing of the new sound technologies, releases from reprocessing Helsinki Convention, which strengthening of institutional plants at Sellafield (UK) and entered into force at the capacity and human resources Cap de La Hague (France) and beginning of the year 2000 and increasing local capacities the fallout which came from after ratification by all to finance environmental the Chernobyl nuclear power Contracting Parties. The measures. The Programme plant accident in 1986. Convention was expanded to includes elements to support By comparison, inputs from include the internal waters of applied research and the nine nuclear power plants the Contracting Parties and the environmental awareness and and from the research centres, concepts of the Precautionary education. hospitals and other facilities in Principle, Best Environmental Environmental monitoring the sea’s catchment area are Practice, and Best Available and assessment play an extremely low. A former coastal Technology. It states the firm important role in the regional open dumping ground in determination of the collaboration. It provides Sillamäe