Journalist: Authorities suppress information about pesticides found in Desna, probably from the Sejm
29 August 2024 16:51
Renowned environmental journalist Oleh Lystopad warns of an environmental threat. According to his information, pesticides have been found in the Desna River, which probably got there from the Seim River, reports "Komersant Ukrainian"
“The pollution from the Sejm reached the Desna yesterday, and the situation has already been commented on by top officials of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine and the acting head of the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine. Unfortunately, they were very brief and dry, but correct. And too late. It should have been done ten days ago and in human language, to express some emotions – that yes, it’s very shitty, that the water stinks and the fish are dying, and we as people and Ukrainians are also upset,”
– says Oleh Lystopad.
The journalist believes that the authorities should be honest about the environmental impact that experts are already recording.
“And to be honest, there is nothing to be done but to monitor, which is what is being done, everything is fine here. We need to involve the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the State Agency of Water Resources of Ukraine, and fishermen. And do not hide the fact that one sample did contain pesticides. And to agree that we need to work for the future: to ban sand extraction from the Desna, to revoke the issued permits, to put a moratorium on peat extraction to ensure better water availability in the rivers; to control the regime of coastal protection zones more strictly. I would like to praise the Sumy Regional Military Administration, the State Environmental Inspectorate in Sumy Oblast, and other Sumy services – they have done a good job,”
– summarises Oleg Lystopad.
He believes that further developments in the situation will depend on the effectiveness of monitoring and cooperation between various state and local authorities.
Pollution of the Sejm
Water pollution in the Seim River was first detected in the Novoslobidiska community in Sumy Oblast on 14 August. Already then, discolouration of the water and unusual behaviour of fish were reported. Local authorities reported that the contamination was likely caused by a substance of organic origin, as the oxygen level in the water had critically decreased. The pollution developed into a real environmental disaster of local significance, with a sea of fish in the river and significant environmental damage.
One of the assumptions is that the pollution occurred on the territory of Russia, from where the Sejm waters enter Ukraine. The pollutant discharge allegedly occurred near the Russian village of Tiotkino, as there is a sugar factory there. Oleh Lystopad considers this version to be quite plausible, as there are no large enterprises on the territory of Ukraine on the Sejm that could cause pollution of this magnitude.
In Ukraine, the Sejm flows into the Desna River.
