OREANDA-NEWS. September 6, 2007.  Kstovo (Nizhny Novgorod Region). On September 2, 2007 public hearings took place as the part of the Environmental Impact Assessment for a proposed new PVC plant. It was organized by the Authorities of Kstovo district of Nizhny Novgorod Region and involved representatives of environmental NGOs (the “Dront” ecocentre, the “Help the River” movement and others), socio-political movements, experts from research institutes specializing in healthcare, meteorology and petrochemicals (the “Sintez” scientific research centre, the Urban Ecology research and design institute) and representatives of the Authorities of Nizhny Novgorod region as well as the project coordinators from SIBUR and Solvay.

The experts from the Urban Ecology institute presented the results of a study of the potential environmental impacts of two alternative construction sites in the region near the towns of Kstovo and Dzerzhinsk.

A comparative analysis of environmental and climatic conditions at the two sites shows that climatic conditions around Kstovo are generally more favourable for self-purification of the atmosphere. A study of the geological and hydro-geological conditions and hazardous geological processes at the two sites has also indicated that construction at Kstovo would entail fewer adverse impacts on the geological environment. The level of karst hazard varies across the Dzerzhinsk site, where formation of karst holes is a possibility.

Both potential sites are situated beyond the water protection zones for surface water bodies, which means there are no restrictions on water usage.

In order to prevent contamination of surface waters the preliminary design includes collection and separation of all contaminated surface runoff from the plant into a floodwater drainage system with subsequent processing in existing treatment facilities to reduce concentrations to legally permitted levels.

A dendrological study of the two sites highlighted the presence of coniferous forests around Dzerzhinsk that help maintain a healthy environment for the local population by removing hazardous industrial gases and dust from the atmosphere. The vegetation the Kstovo site consists of self-propagating plants of little value.

It is recommended that over 10% of the total investment on the new plant be spent on environmental measures.

Industrial safety and ecology experts from the Belgian company Solvay, Helmuth Leitner and Alain Fobelets, gave a presentation on the environmental protection systems applied at similar plants in Europe.

The presentations were followed by a questions and answers session involving members of the public. Representatives of environmental organizations and movements, municipal government and the public demonstrated a keen interest in the environmental aspects of the proposed project.

In the course of the next month the organizers of the hearing will sum up the questions and proposals received and communicate the outcomes of this exercise to the public. As far as is possible, the comments and proposals put forward at the hearings will be taken into account in the environmental protection section of the design documentation.