Ukrainian Science’s Fight for Environmental Safety
Ukrainian scientists studying the environmental impact of the war welcome global collaboration
Modest Gertsiuk | | 3 min read | Opinion
Credit: Supplied by Author
A large-scale war is underway in Ukraine in which the Ukrainian people defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity and security. For millions of Ukrainians, this war means a tragic loss of loved ones, loss of homes, and migration to safer shores. The war continues to destroy cities and other settlements, energy networks, infrastructure, and we also see the deterioration of the state of chemical and environmental safety – a direct result of military operations and the destruction of enterprises, warehouses, agro-industrial complex facilities, hydraulic structures, sewage systems, and treatment plants. During these events, hazardous substances migrate into and pollute the environment, posing a danger to the health of the population. One example of such devastation is the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant dam.
The study of the impact of military operations on the state of chemical and environmental safety is one of the priority areas of research for Ukrainian scientists, including those in the laboratory I head. These studies involve analyzing contamination in areas affected by hostilities and emergencies resulting from the destruction of various facilities. They also focus on tracking contamination dynamics, understanding chemical transformations of anthropogenic substances, and identifying patterns of hazardous substance migration and decomposition. This work often relies on extensive analyses of surface water and soil samples. Although Ukraine has a network of state and municipal laboratories conducting such tests, the range of substances they monitor is limited. Given the current situation in Ukraine, it is critical to assess a broad array of potential pollutants in the environment. This requires new methods of analysis and modern equipment.
Our laboratory applies its expertise in environmental pollution analysis to meet these challenges. However, funding for scientific research in Ukraine has been drastically reduced, as resources are diverted to maintain state functions and provide social protection. Under these conditions, Ukrainian scientists, using their own capabilities to the maximum, try to develop contacts with other laboratories and scientific institutions, participate in projects financed on a grant basis in order to expand research and obtain good results.
The development of contacts and cooperation between Ukrainian scientists and specialists working in control laboratories and enterprises with their counterparts abroad is one of the main tasks of the Chromatographic Society of Ukraine, which I head. Since its establishment, the Society has constantly held international conferences, in which both Ukrainian scientists and specialists and their foreign colleagues participated. These conferences considered the development of new methods of analysis and their application, problems of chemical and environmental safety. The geography of the venues for these conferences in Ukraine was quite wide: Kyiv, Sevastopol, Precarpathia, Transcarpathia. However, in the conditions of the pandemic, and now the war, the holding of these conferences was suspended.
The Society also publishes a scientific periodical, Zurnal Hromatograficnogo Tovaristva (Journal of the Chromatographic Society), ISSN 1729-7192, DOI:10.15407/zht. Articles are published in Ukrainian and English, covering new chromatographic and chemical analysis methods, their applications, and the work of scientists and research institutions in chromatography. In 2021, a special issue highlighted the research directions and achievements of Ukrainian chromatographic centers.
We are confident that studying the environmental impact of military actions will contribute significantly to devising strategies to mitigate chemical contamination, protect the environment, and ensure public safety. Nevertheless, we welcome collaboration with other labs – especially those with the capacity for joint analyses. Addressing the environmental impact of war requires a systemic approach, involving not just Ukraine, but the global scientific community.
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Researcher, Institute of Environmental Geochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv; and President of the Chromatographic Society of Ukraine
