River Labe polluted by toxic PCBs:


Czech Republic | Oct 24, 2002



Dioxins were probably not the only chemicals, which have leaked from chemical plant Spolana Neratovice during floods in August. Beside dioxins, other highly toxic substances - polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - were released, according to analyses ARNIKA ordered to make from a number of samples of sediments taken from Elbe not far from the plant. "Based on the analyses, we can say that toxic concentrations under Spolana are higher than above it. There are concentrations of o PCBs, tetrachlordibenzodioxin and DDT (1)," said Jindrich Petrlik, leader of ARNIKA's programme Toxic and Waste.

As he added, levels of PCBs in sediments under Spolana are close to concentrations which were found for instance in close distance to chemical plant which produced PCBs - Chemko Strazske in Slovakia. "The highest concentrations of PCBs were found on the right bank of Elbe under stepansky bridge near Obistvi. The analyses show that structure of PCBs corresponds with the product known under the name Delor 106. In the Czech Republic, this product used to be added to transformer oils or as additive to colours. Czech Environmental Inspection says in its press release from 9th October that, according to its own estimations, 0.15 t of trafooils could have leak from Spolana Neratovice," Petrlik said.

ARNIKA is going to inform the Czech Environmental Inspection, Regional Office in Melník, company Povodí Labe (dealing with management of water flow of the river Elbe) and the Czech Police about the alarming results. The Czech Police investigates management of Spolana due to toxic releases at the time of the floods.

At the end of September, ARNIKA asked director of Spolana, Miroslav Kuliha, for providing information on the toxic releases to environment and on their presence in the are of the chemical plant. But it still has not received any answer. Part of the answer is in the report of the Czech Environmental Inspection that mentions trafooils which could contain PCBs, but it does not say anything directly about the leakage of the oils with PCBs," said ARNIKA's spokesman Marek Jehlicka. ARNIKA has found that the PCBs were used in Spolana in the past (2).

Now presented analyses of the sediments were made by accredited laboratory Axys-Varilab. In 2 weeks ARNIKA will also have results of other analyses of sediments and soil, samples of which it has taken in October for instance on the field of private farmers in village Kozly. The analyses of sediments were included into project of inventory of the persistent organic pollutants, made by company TOCOEN. The project is financed by organisation UNIDO within implementation plans for the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (3).

Appendix:

1) - Table provides a review of some results of sediment analyses of samples of Elbe and of wetland area by Elbe near village Obistvi. The samples were taken few days after the floods in August 2002 (the concentrations are given in ng/g, if there is not a note about other measure unit). Content of chemicals in samples taken by ARNIKA was defined by lab Axys-Varilab, samples taken by Povodí Labe - by its own laboratory. Significantly high concentrations are given by strong letters.

Notes: * In analyses ordered by Arnika there is a summarised settlement of congeners PCB 118+123

** Limit in a law on waste. Waste which exceeds the limit, cannot be used in underground space and in a surface of the terrain.

2) - Results of searching for PCB in inventory of waste from Spolana Neratovice in past years showed that oils containing PCBs were present in some transformers of Spolana. In 2000, the section of qualified chemistry reported 0,11 t of waste oils with the content of PCB. In 1998-1999, Spolana passed transformers containing PCB of total weight over 24 t for liquidation.

3) The Stockholm Convention banns usage of POPs and orders their elimination (it concerns 8 pesticides including DDT and technical chemicals, i.e. PCBs and hexachlorbenzen and undesired byproducts such as for example dioxins). The Czech Republic ratified the convention and now is preparing implementation plan. New international convention will be valid after it is ratified by the fiftieth state. It was so far ratified by 22 countries.








Version: DRAFT 2.0 (June 1, 2006)