Belarus
Center for Environmental Solutions is the NGO that IPEN and Toxics Link partnered with in Belarus for this project.
Center for Environmental Solutions is the NGO that IPEN and Toxics Link partnered with in Belarus for this project.
Check back soon for updates!
In this project, Resource Centre Leskovac sought to understand the level of community knowledge about toxic chemicals in toys, and also tested specific toys for toxic ingredients. Research was therefore done with 150 health workers/parents (with children from 2 -12 years of age) in health institutions in four local communities to determine their awareness. Next, four groups of toys, divided by materials (metal, plastic, wood and rubber) were tested for heavy metals, phthalates and formaldehyde chemicals.
In this project, Ecological Center Dront assessed the situation of mercury-containing light bulb contamination in Nizhniy Novgorod. Organizers examined existing legislation in the Russian Federation and, using this information, formally submitted requests to 28 Housing Maintenance Facilities (HMF) to implement an officially sanctioned program to collect used mercury light bulbs.
In this project, Ukrainian NGO MAMA-86-Kharkov researched the country situation as regards to mercury (its use, relevant laws, environmental and health hazards, etc.), and shared their findings at a conference they convened: "Chemical education in the context of chemical safety: the problem and prospects." During this conference, the seminar "Problems and prospects for the national implementation of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)” took place.
In this project, Eco-SPES collected water and bottom deposits from minor water bodies (lakes, rivers, channels), as well as soil samples, to measure toxic metals and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This was a unique undertaking, as these types of samples have not been collected for analysis before; or, at least not within the past 20 to 30 years. Additionally, it was a particularly relevant project, as preparations for the planned raising of the water level in Cheboksary Water Reservoir at the Volga were occuring.
Waste in municipal landfills in six industrial cities was thoroughly analyzed by the NGO Ruzgar to check for mercury contamination. The results of this exploration showed that medical wastes and fluorescent light bulbs containing mercury are mixed in with other waste. In the case of Sumgait landfill, mercury levels were found to exceed relevant standards due to disposal of mercury-containing waste with municipal waste.
ECOVISION organizeed an awareness campaign with local authorities, NGOs and rural farmers concerning the terrible contamination from obsolete pesticides in the Kvemi Kartli on of Georgia.