92000E1894

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1894/00

by Jan Wiersma (PSE) to the Commission

(6 June 2000)

Subject: Forest fires in polluted areas of Belarus and the Ukraine

1. Is there any truth in the reports that forest fires have broken out in Belarus and the Ukraine in areas polluted as a result of the Chernobyl disaster?

2. Will these fires result in greater risks for public health in the countries in question and beyond?

3. Have the fires prompted action by the European Union, or will they prompt such action?

4. In what way is the EU helping to control the risks of pollution in Belarus and the Ukraine?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 2000)

Several forest and peat fires broke out in Belarus and Ukraine in mid May 2000. The Commission has no information suggesting that these fires broke out as a result of the Chernobyl accident.

However, some of the forests involved are contaminated, and the fires may therefore constitute a mechanism for spreading radioactivity. This issue was the subject of Commission research projects within a programme of international cooperation on the environment and health consequences of the Chernobyl accident. The investigations found that only a marginal fraction of the total inventory of radionuclides existing in contaminated forests can be suspended in the air once more following a fire. The recent fires seem to reinforce this finding, since only small increases were recorded in the levels of radiation.

Regarding new initiatives to respond to this situation the Commission will keep the situation under review. It is worth recalling that the Commission has an active programme of assistance in this field, which continues to address the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. This includes assistance to build an adequate shelter for the reactor, to improve radioactive waste management and to address the environmental aspects of the situation. A Commission funded pilot project to install radiation monitoring systems for air and river water was initiated in Ukraine and Belarus during 1995. These systems are in operation.

Moreover, medical and humanitarian assistance has been provided to the inhabitants of the areas worst affected by the disaster.