UKRAINE DISASTER: A CHEMICAL CONNECTION?
By Jon Rappoport
www.insolutions.info
NOVEMBER 14, 2009. I was, of course, wondering whether some explanation
other than a virus could account for the million cases of illness recently
reported in the Ukraine.
First of all, a million new cases in a month? Germs don’t travel that fast. Is
that million-figure even correct? Who knows? But I ploughed on anyway.
The first thing that caught my attention was an undated article by a Prof. Yu.
I. Kundiev, titled “State of Affairs in Ukraine and Other CIS Countries.” The
article may be a chapter in a book.
“A major problem today is the storage of large quantities of pesticides which
are outdated or prohibited for further use. According to a special survey of the
Ukrainian Environmental Ministry such stocks amount to 22 million tons, most of
which are persistent chlororganic pesticides.
“The storage conditions are different, and mostly inadequate. Together with the
long storage time, low quality of containers and packaging, this led to the
formation of different compositions of substances, and even possibly of new
compounds with unknown properties. Further storage of such quantities of toxic
substances in unfit storehouses surely poses a permanent threat to the
environment and human health fraught with an environmental catastrophe.
“Besides, in the present situation there is real possibility of illegal use of
prohibited pesticides. There already are reports of such cases. But it is
practically impossible to determine the scope of such unauthorized use or where
and how the pesticides are applied.
“It is imperative that all the CIS countries should work out and implement
organizational, technical and technological measures and conditions to
neutralize and dispose of outdated and prohibited pesticides.”
Next, I came across a journal paper by Tamara Gurzhiy: “Expired and prohibited
pesticides problem in Ukraine.” Independent Agency for Ecological Information,
Kharkiv, Ukraine. Whoever did the English translation did it roughly in spots.
Abstract:
“Twenty thousand to 25,000 t of expired or prohibited pesticides are stored on
4,000 Ukrainian depots. This is a serious threat for people and environment.
Arsenic compounds are highly toxic for cattle. Death comes within several
hours…Majority of pesticide depots were not designed for long-term usage.
Chemicals are stolen and illegally sold to people. Depots’ roofs collapsed over
the time, pesticides’ wrapping gets of order, pesticides of different nature may
become catalyst of spontaneous chemical reactions with unpredictable results.
Spontaneous fire may spread toxins on a wide area. Utilization of expired and
prohibited pesticides is Ukrainian national problem.”
Then I found an article about a pesticide fire. It is dated Oct. 17.
Storehouse with pesticide in Dzhankoi on fire
October 17 at 12:37
Simferopol, October 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) - A
storehouse with pesticide in Dzhankoi (Crimea) is on fire.
The associate head of the chief department of the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry
in Crimea, Volodymyr Ivanov, told Interfax- Ukraine
that a storehouse fire started early on Saturday.
"At present fire is being extinguished, and 16 fire-fighting vehicles are used,"
he said.
Fire fighters use foam to extinguish fire.
The chairman of the Crimean Republican Committee for environment protection,
Yevhen Bubnov, told the agency that old pesticide were stores at the storehouse,
in particular, magnesium chloride, which is used to treat sunflower and cotton.
He said that magnesium chloride is inert material, although it is highly
explosive in combination with oxygen.
Bubnov said that work on transportation of dangerous substances to Poland to
utilize them was done at the storehouse, where around 200 tonnes of pesticide
and magnesium chloride was stored. A Kyiv firm was
doing the work, and around 40 tonnes of pesticide was taken from the storehouse.
He said that on Friday night ignition occurred, which was stopped by a fire
engine. However, today in the morning ignition occurred again and barrels, where
pesticide was transshipped, started exploding.
Bubnov said no victims were registered. (end clip)
This story carries all sorts of potential implications. Clouds of toxic
pesticides drifting out through the sky? Cover-up of the effects? 200 tons of
pesticides in the storehouse?
Then, I found an Oct. 2 piece in Mileukontakl International: “Ukrainian Obsolete
Pesticides: A Timebomb for Ukraine and Moldova.”
BRNO, Czech Republic, Sept. 23 /CNW/ – According to Milieukontakts Partner IHPA
(the International HCH and Pesticides Association) the health of at least 7
million inhabitants in Moldavia and Ukraine is seriously threatened by a stock
of old pesticides. IHPA calls for fast EU action to disarm this ‘biggest
chemical time bomb of Europe’. This was incited at the closure of the 10th HCH &
Pesticides Forum of the IHPA in the Czech Republic.
During the congress it became known that in the former Kalush factory in the
west of Ukraine there is a stock of no less than 10,000 tonnes of superfluous
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB). It’s particularly the positioning along the Dniester
river that makes the situation extremely hazardous: a single flood and the high
concentrations of poison would pollute the natural habitat of some 7 million
people in the west of Ukraine and Moldavia.
In total, tens of millions of inhabitants in Europe, Central Asia and the former
Soviet Union are being threatened by pesticides. In Ukraine alone there are
4,500 storage locations with more than 30,000 tonnes of old pesticides, a legacy
from the Soviet era. The substances have been prohibited since 2001. As a rule
the packaging only lasts five to ten years. If nothing happens in that time,
then the substances could simply end up in the soil or in the water…(end clip)
Who knows what the effect of that pesticide fire is? I have no way of linking
the reports of mass illness in the Ukraine to tons of stored pesticides. But
this bears further investigation. What we are told is a virus is not sufficient
to engender our faith.
JON RAPPOPORT
www.insolutions.info