Gorlovka Chemical Plant: Addressing a Piece of the Toxic Soviet Legacy

Abstract

Background. The Gorlovka chemical plant is an abandoned industrial complex in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. The facility produced toxic mononitrochlorobenzene (MNCB) and explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) until it was abruptly abandoned in 2001. The plant is now the subject of a cleanup project coordinated by a broad group of stakeholders, including the government of Ukraine, regional and municipal authorities, the international not-for-profit Blacksmith Institute, institutional and private sector donors, and local contractors. Objectives. Remediation efforts at the Gorlovka chemical plant complex aim to reduce environmental health risks to the local community by removing remaining stocks of MNCB and TNT, and analyzing soil and groundwater for potential contamination. Discussion. The Gorlovka Chemical Plant is one of many toxic sites left from Soviet industrial activities. Throughout Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, former Soviet states are discovering and trying to deal with polluted sites that pose extraordinary risks to human health. Because many of these sites and facilities were secret under Soviet rule, the governments that emerged after the fall of the USSR are still not fully aware of the location and characteristics of sites within their borders. Conclusions. A successful remediation project at the Gorlovka Chemical Plant could serve as a model for future efforts to engage local, national and international stakeholders in the cleanup of complex legacy pollution sites in the former Soviet Union and around the world. Financial Disclosure. None reported

Keywords

• Ukraine
• mononitrochlorobenzene
• trinitrotoluene
• Eastern Europe
• Soviet Union
• Blacksmith Institute
• former Soviet states
• toxic sites
• pollution
• TNT
• MNCB