Beryllium mining and environmental protection: prospects for the creation of the Polissia Beryllium Reserve

Abstract

In the near future, beryllium mining may begin near and within the Polissia Nature Reserve, and there are grounds for establishing the Polissia Beryllium Reserve, following the example of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Reserve. The State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine has already granted a special permit for 20 years of beryllium ore mining (No. 6383 issued on 01.11.2019). The extraction of beryllium by open-pit mining and zirconium by underground and open-pit mining in the Polissia Reserve area could lead to a range of problems, from a reduction in groundwater levels and pollution from mine effluents to beryllium contamination, disease and mortality among workers and local residents. Based on the scientific literature, as well as the characteristics of the landscape structure in the area of the planned mine and quarry, it can be concluded that there will be a variety of negative impacts on the environment. The proximity and territorial overlap of the Perzhanske ore field was known at the time of the creation of the Polissia Reserve, and for unknown reasons, after almost 10 years of opposition, the reserve was created here. The probability of ore development within the Perzhanske ore field after the signing of the agreement on mineral resources between Ukraine and the United States is very high. There is no information in scientific literature about the environmental risks of ore mining in the Perzhanske ore field. The environmental risks of pollution to the environment, the Perga and Ubort rivers, and part of the Polissia Nature Reserve could be catastrophic. The existing protected area of the Polissia Reserve falls within the mining zone and will not be able to avoid the negative impact of ore mining. The width of the protection zone between the reserve and the mine and quarry in the eastern direction, taking into account the intensive transfer of pollutants with acid rain, should be about 10 km, and in the northern direction, with less intensity of pollutants, about 5 km. In the eastern and north-eastern directions, there will be less acid precipitation, but more intense long-distance dust spread is predicted, with subsequent dust settling on the ground. To reduce river pollution, it is advisable to redirect the Perga River upstream from the ore extraction site to the Ubort River through a newly created canal.