ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih manipulates information during the ATS procedure

OVD / 06.05.2020

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih manipulates information during the ATS reconstruction procedure of the IV Card tailings pond with board extensions.

The participants of the DTCR studied the Environmental Impact Assessment Report of the planned activity and sent their remarks and comments on this document to the Ministry of Energy.

In our opinion, the Report does not meet the requirements of the law, and the ATS procedure itself has been violated. Our experts have found signs of false information.

The company claims that flooding in the area of ​​influence of the tailings is not expected. But already there are flooding of lands, flooding of basements and salinization of wells. Therefore, the influence of filtration waters from the tailings is incorrectly described.

Contradictory information and manipulative conclusions regarding soil pollution. One part of the document states that under the influence of emissions from mining enterprises in the soil decreases humus by about 8.9% – 13.9%. In another – that the planned activities will not lead to changes in soils. It is known that the land around the tailings is covered with dust with a high content of silicon dioxide, which reduces crop yields. We believe that soil studies in the area of ​​influence of the planned activities were not conducted. We see this as a manipulation of community opinion and significant violations of the ATS procedure. The frequency of bischofite treatment of sawing surfaces is determined visually by the employee of the enterprise, and does not depend on weather conditions.

Incorrect information about the fauna and flora in the area of ​​influence of the planned activity is also given. Apparently, such studies were also not conducted on the ground, and the Kyiv developers of the Report used the available information. And this is also a violation of the ATS procedure.

The background dust concentration is lower than usual in Kryvyi Rih, and no official document confirming such figures is provided.

Calculations and data sources for human health impact assessment are not specified. Despite public demands, no statistics were provided on the incidence of the population of the surrounding areas, including the dynamics of respiratory diseases, allergies, asthma, cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal tract.

The assessment of the risks of the planned activity due to the possibility of emergencies is more similar to the text of the guidelines. The section does not analyze the actual and planned risks and does not provide mitigation measures. It will be recalled that this is an object of a high level of environmental and man-made danger. And the emergency zone was not reflected in the Report.

The company does not offer compensatory measures, but simply limited the statutory payment for environmental pollution. The report does not provide (or simply does not have) a plan for landscaping within the sanitary protection zone. The company ignored the requirement for mandatory monitoring of atmospheric air, including the installation of additional automated observation posts in the nearest residential buildings, for example, in the village. Svistunove, Myrolyubivka.

Under such conditions, DTKR considers it premature to provide a positive conclusion on the ATS of the planned activities and offers the company to provide the following:

  • to prohibit noise load on the inhabitants of adjacent residential areas above the permissible levels day / night from noise sources of PJSC AMKR and to provide its constant monitoring;
  • to organize and implement the current automated monitoring of pollutant concentrations in the village of Myrolyubivka, Svistunove with the results of monitoring being made available to the public;
  • anticipate and implement effective measures to reduce the amount of filtration water entering the environment;
  • provide for measures for dust suppression during the planned activities in the event of certain meteorological conditions (wind speed, humidity); strictly follow these measures;
  • perform landscaping of the lower tiers of the tailings without waiting for them to overgrow, for example, by applying the seeds of herbaceous plants by spraying with water hydromonitors;
  • to provide compensatory landings of green plantings, including as dust-absorbing protective strips on the border of a sanitary protection zone.

Also oblige the company to take care of such plantations and water them for at least five years from the moment of planting in order to ensure the survival of plants.

Full text of comments.

This project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic under the Transformation Cooperation Program