Ukraine, the collapse of the Kakhovka dam is an ecological catastrophe. “Could be worse than Chernobyl, worries about oil”

An ecological catastrophe “worse than Chernobyl”. In these hours the priority, dictated by the emergency of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, is to assist 16 thousand displaced people and as many who will no longer have access to drinking water and services.

However, in the long term, experts warn, the damage to the large 30-metre high dam and fundamental to the agricultural heartland of Ukraine could prove fatal for a very large number of species in territories that reach as far as the Black Sea and which also involve Turkey and other States. Ostap Semerak, the former minister of ecology and natural resources of Ukraine, said that this tragedy “will have an impact on Romania, Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria.

It will be harmful for the whole region” he declared adding that it is the biggest environmental catastrophe in Europe “in the last 10 years, and I think it could be the worst in Ukraine since Chernobyl in 1986”. The point now will be to understand, with the withdrawal of waters, what will be the condition of the territories.

What is known is that an enormous mass of water has overwhelmed cities, service stations (with fuel), companies and industries and this could mean that a very vast area, also dedicated to agricultural use such as for the cultivation of wheat and sunflower oil, is contaminated by chemicals and petroleum products with the risk that it could flow into the Black Sea. Some videos on social media already show how in some areas where the water has receded there is a gigantic death of fish.

If we imagine that the dam is one of the largest in the world in terms of reservoir capacity, with a volume of water almost as large as the Great Salt Lake in the USA, it is easy to think of the impact that the release of such an amount of water.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy has already spoken of a possible case of “ecocide” speaking of “an environmental bomb of mass destruction” and also from Europe, as in the words of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the first statements are coming of “environmental catastrophe” in progress.

While possible damage from contamination of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (which is 160 km away) seems to have been averted for now, however, the risks remain high due to pollution from chemical and petroleum products which could especially involve the areas downstream of the Dnipro river.

Specifically, there are fears for the destruction of ecosystems in which fish, molluscs and various aquatic species live, but also negative impacts for the national parks of Nyzhniodniprovs’kyi, Kam’yanska Sich, Biloberizhzhia Sviatoslava, the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve which is a UNESCO-listed biosphere reserve and the Kinburn Spit Regional Landscape Park.

Not only that: the water, dragging everything along, could have moved a series of war remnants linked to the Russian invasion, such as mines for example, making staying in the territory and estimating the damage increasingly complex and dangerous. One of the most worrying components of the tragedy, which will likely only become clear in the coming days, is the possible contamination from industrial chemicals and oil spilled from the hydroelectric plant into the Dnipro River. The managers of the company that generates hydroelectric energy have already explained that a “significant” impact on the environment is expected and that “the number of fish will gradually decrease”.

For example there are 400 tons of oil needed for the transformers of the hydroelectric plant which could have been involved in the contamination. According to the Ukrainian authorities probably 150 tons have already leaked but could be many more. In this regard, the Ukrainian Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets has already stated that between 600 and 800 tons of crude oil could generally leak and the relative environmental damage, at a minimum, is estimated at around 50 million euros. In terms of ecosystems, “some we have lost forever” he told news agencies.

But the real damages will only be quantifiable in the future: for example those relating to the unique species that live downstream of the dam or those present in the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve which is home to wild horses and various protected birds. As well as those that populate forests and national parks already impacted by hard months of war and fires.

For now, unfortunately, the only certainty is that the 300 animals in the Nova Kakhovka zoo are already dead. In the meantime, while waiting to understand and have an initial estimate of the damage, concerns are growing throughout Europe: even the secretary general of the United Nations António Guterres, commenting on what happened, spoke in no uncertain terms of an “ecological catastrophe” underway.