Antarctic Treaty XII SATCM/IP31 XII Special Consultative Meeting October, 2000 Traité de l'Antarctique Original: English XIIe Réunion consultative spéciale Tratado Antártico Agenda Item XII Reunión Consultiva Especial (CEP) 4e Антарктический Договор XII Специальное Консультативное Совещание Environmental protection activities at the Russian Antarctic station Progress in 1999-2000 Submitted by Russian Federation Environmental protection activities at the Russian Antarctic station Progress in 1999-2000 (Special ATCM, 11-16 September, 2000,CEP III, IP, Item 4a, submitted by the Russian Federation) The Antarctic field base Druzhnaya-4 and the Progress station were set up on the Amery Ice Shelf and in the Larsemann Hills oasis as the basic points for organizing Russian geological-geophysical studies of the area of Prince Charles Mountains and the Lambert glacier in 1987 and 1988, respectively. During the 1988-1989 season, the Progress station was moved to a new location closer to the ship unloading area. During the 1990-1992 period, large construction activities were undertaken at the Progress station presenting the first stage of establishing a large Antarctic base with the design dimensions similar to the USA McMurdo station. With this aim, a package of the necessary design-construction documentation was developed meeting the standard-legal base existing at that time in the USSR including the environmental protection issues. It also included the documentation on construction of the snow-ice runway to receive heavy wheeled aircraft. The political and economical changes that occurred in the country in the late 1980s-early 1990s interrupted these activities resulting in the temporary closing down of the station in 1992. Ratification by the Russian Federation of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and new economical conditions required reconsidering of the earlier adopted design documents. At the same time, the Government of the Russian Federation envisaged in its Decision of August 1997 the establishment of the Center of Russian Antarctic expedition studies at the Progress station. For this purpose, the Russian Antarctic Expedition envisaged in its plans to re-activate the station, create new projects for its reconstruction and undertake environmental protection actions. In 1999-2000, the environmental protection actions were performed at the Progress station including the assessment and preventive measures under the long-term program of environmental sanitation. The assessment was comprised of: 1. Revealing objects that have an active and potentially adverse environmental impact in the station area and assessment of the scales of necessary work for their disposal. 2. Assessment of the amount of the station life activity waste to be removed from the station: scrap metal, used fuel-lubricants, drums with organic waste, storage batteries and inorganic materials. 3. Preparation of the schematic map of the station territory with indication of ecologically hazardous objects: waste disposal sites, open storage space and fuel-lubricant warehouses. The objects that have a potentially adverse environmental impact in the station area were identified: • Of current potential impact that include the entire technological chain connected with the use of fuel-lubricants: fuel-lubricants warehouse, fuel transportation to the service tank, refueling of vehicles and storage of used fuel-lubricants; as well as the discharge of non-treated grey galley water and bath sewage. 2 • Of prolonged potential impact that include dumping sites with organic and domestic waste, open storage space and scrap metal storage site. One of the priority objectives of the next expeditions will be arrangement for waste storage and preparation for disposal. It is necessary to remove all that has already been prepared or can be prepared without additional labor expenses for transportation. The severe ice conditions in Prydz Bay for the last few years will require preliminary disassembling of broken transport vehicles before they could be moved to onboard ship by helicopter. The list of waste and equipment with the overall dimensions and an approximate weight are presented in the Table. The work for waste disposal at the Progress station is planned to take 3-4 years beginning from 2001. In respect of the preventive environmental protection actions during the 1999-2000 period, a significant amount of work has been done: • the station territory was cleaned from garbage; • the storage of transport vehicles has become more orderly aiming to minimize the formation of snowdrifts; • two temporary incinerators were manufactured to burn timber trimmings, empty tare and inflammable construction debris; • sorting of waste of different kind was organized: glass, metal, food waste; • the warehouse “Patriot” was dismantled; • the non-used vehicles were placed to the open parking place; • painting of the station houses was made; • the diesel-electric station service and emergency tanks were painted; • 7 acid and 7 alkaline batteries were prepared for shipping away. In order to improve the organization of waste management, the following equipment was delivered to the station during the season: • mobile bio-toilets – 4 pieces; • compactor for garbage pressing; • plastic containers for sorted garbage collection; • polyethylene bags for domestic waste collection. During the 2001-2003 it is planned to: 1. set up a high temperature incinerator for garbage burning; 2. set up treatment facilities for sewage water and provide the discharge of light water to the bay; 3. exclude or to minimize transportation of diesel fuel in drums to prevent accidental spills of fuel and lubricants; 4. arrange for safe storage of waste before shipping from the Antarctic; 5. liquidate the old station waste dumping site. 3 List of equipment and station life activity waste for shipment from the Antarctic No. Object Weight, Quantity Necessary Equipment and Location Planned (t) preparation resources shipping time, actions year 1 Old non-operating engines GAZ-71 0,4х2 2 Crane, slinger Waste disposal site 2001 2 Defective diesels 0,8х6 6 Waste disposal site 2001 3 Cargo wheeled trailer 0,5х2 2 Waste disposal site 2001 4 Mechanical hammer 0,3 1 Waste disposal site 2001 5 Pressed drums 2-3 Waste disposal site 2002 6 Empty non-pressed drums 350-400 2002 7 Drums with used fuel-lubricants 1,8 100 2002 8 Drums with organic domestic waste and feces 12 600 Hermetic sealing Waste disposal site 2002 9 Drums with construction debris 50 Hermetic sealing Waste disposal site 2002 10 Scrap metal 50 Cutting, Welding unit Waste disposal site 2001 packaging 11 Hydraulic press machine 4-5 1 Dismantling Team of Waste disposal site 2002 specialists 12 Dump truck MAZ 7 1 Open parking place 2003 13 Tractor K-701 (station No. 5) 15 1 Dismantling Specialist Open parking place 2003 14 Bulldozer (station No. 3) 20 1 Dismantling Specialist Open parking place 2003 15 Car Ural (station No. 9) 5 1 Dismantling Open parking place 2003 4 Fig. 1. Schematic map of the Progress station facilities as of February 2, 2000 - Structures - Roads Legend to a schematic map of the Progress station facilities (as of February 2, 2000) 1. Radio-bureau 2. Spare radio transmitter. “Geolog” house 3. “Lena” complex 4. House of builders 5. Medical house 5 6. 20-feet container 7. Two living houses 8. Uninhabited house (cold store) 9. Hangar, diesel electric station and bath complex 10. Warm storehouse 11. Living block 12. Mess-room, galley 13. Uninhabited house 14. Living block 15. “House of airmen” 16. Destroyed house 17. Radio transmitter 18. Antenna field 19. Parking places of vehicles 20. a – Service tanks of the diesel electric station of 2x50 m3 b – wheeled tank of 20 m3 21. Tank of 100 m3 22. Tanks of 6x50 m3 23. Tanks of 4x25 m3 Open storage space and dumps I. Open storage space II. Open storage space and a waste disposal site – to be sorted out III. Waste disposal site – to be removed from the Antarctic Treaty area 6.