Technological hazards and health risks in Ukraine

Technological hazards and health risks in Ukraine

WHO / Agata Grzybowska / RATS Agency
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As part of WHO’s obligations under the International Health Regulations, the Organization is working closely alongside relevant national authorities and international organizations to assess the risk from and increase preparedness and response capacities for technological and industrial emergencies, including those that involve chemical and nuclear hazards. Such events, should they occur, could lead to potential public health emergencies of international concern.

Radio-nuclear hazards

Ukraine has four operational nuclear power plants (NPPs) containing 15 nuclear reactors, as well as two research nuclear reactors, radioactive waste disposal facilities, radioactive sources used in medicine and industry, and Chernobyl NPP that was decommissioned after the 1986 accident but still hosts two storages for an old spent nuclear fuel units. 

Artillery shelling and fires may damage the safety systems and critical supply services of those installations. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) has been providing daily updates to the IAEA and the global community on the situation related to the nuclear installations in Ukraine.

WHO's role

WHO provides advice to health authorities and the public on the potential health impact of nuclear emergency.

WHO maintains close contact with the IAEA according to the standing procedures under the framework of the Inter-Agency Committee for Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies (IACRNE) and the Joint Plan of International Organizations for preparedness and response to radiological and nuclear emergencies. 

In rendering technical assistance to member states, WHO relies on its global expert network – Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Response Network (REMPAN).

Q&As

Guidelines

 

Networks

IAEA Guidelines and manuals

Partner resources on Ukraine

 

Relevant links

 

Chemical hazards

Ukraine is a country with many industrial chemical sites, mining, and oil refineries. Sites where hazardous chemicals are produced, stored or transported could be possible sources of toxic exposure, especially if affected during the armed conflict. A “chemical incident” refers to any uncontrolled release of a toxic substance, potentially resulting in harm to public health and the environment, and can occur as a result of natural events or as a result of accidental or intentional events. These incidents can be sudden and acute or have a slow onset when there is a ‘silent’ release of a chemical. They can also range from small releases to full-scale major emergencies. Many of the actions which can be taken to prepare for and respond to a chemical incident apply in a broad range of situations irrespective of whether the release was accidental, intentional or a consequence of a natural disaster.

WHO’s role

WHO continues to undertake actions related to chemical hazards, including the following actions:

• provision of technical guidance and risk communication messages for the public and for health care workers involved in patient rescue and care.

• delivery of training focused on a range of relevant hazards for the Ministry of Health and for health partners who may be involved in the response to any chemical events.

• prepositioning of critical supplies with trained cadres of health workers, including personal protective equipment for chemical hazards, and critical medical supplies and therapeutics.

Q&As, Information Notes and Factsheets

WHO Factsheet on Chemical Emergencies – short Factsheet on chemical incidents during emergencies. 

Information Note - What to do in case of a chemical release: Practical advice for the public on what to do in the case of chemical release.

Materials originally created for situations involving the deliberate release of chemicals also contain information about the possible health effects of toxic chemicals and the actions that people can take to protect themselves and could be consulted for any release of toxic chemicals in a broad range of situations:

Guidelines and tools

Materials originally created for situations involving the deliberate release of chemicals:

Chemical information databases

Partner resources

Networks

Other networks relevant to chemical safety:

 

 

Relevant links

Fires at oil storage depots

Fires at oil storage depots cause potential health impacts on populations living close to burning oil depots or wells and those living tens of kilometres away depending on wind direction and other weather conditions. Hazards are greatest in the immediate vicinity of the fire and the smoke plume and may last for several days.

To protect yourself:

  •  avoid unprotected exposure to the visible smoke plume;  
  • stay home if it is safe to do so. Prevent penetration of outside air inside: close windows and doors, turn off ventilation and close ventilation grades; and
  • use an N95 particulate mask; they may offer some protection if short-term exposure to smoke is unavoidable.

Firefighters and others working to contain the fire involving burning oil and associated plumes should be equipped with respirators and dermal protection. People with pre-existing respiratory diseases, including asthma, pregnant women, young children and the elderly may be more vulnerable to the effects of smoke from burning oil depots.

 

Characteristics of plumes

Burning oil produces smoke plumes that rise into the air as columns that then spread and gradually disperse. If there are several oil depots or wells burning, then the columns may join together to form a wide cloud. The height and stability of the column and the distance that it travels before dispersing and settling depends on several factors, including the extent of damage to the depot, the pressure inside the containers where the oil is stored, the rising hot air, and wind speed, direction and other meteorological conditions such as precipitation and the presence of temperature inversions.  Smoke plumes may be tens of kilometres wide and may travel for hundreds of kilometres. Experience from chemical incidents involving oil fires such as during the oil well fires in northern Iraq in 2019, or Kuwait in 1991, found that the plumes rose to heights of 3–6 km then mixed with air and dispersed for several thousand kilometres downwind over a period of several weeks. The fires themselves can burn for several days and be difficult to extinguish due to their size.

 

Content of smoke

The smoke produced by the burning oil is a mixture of gases and particles. These include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic hydrocarbons, ozone, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), acidic aerosols, soot and droplets of unburned oil. The smoke may also contain toxic metals and metalloids that are present in the oil, such as nickel, mercury, vanadium, arsenic and lead.  The oil may be stored in sites where there are other industrial pesticides and chemicals, making combustion products more varied and potentially more toxic. The actual composition of the smoke varies according to the characteristics of the oil, any nearby chemicals caught up in the fire and the completeness of combustion.

The smoke produced may be black, indicating a high soot content, or grey or white, indicating a high content of sodium and calcium chlorides.

 

Health hazards

Irritant gases and acidic aerosols

These are mixtures of gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide and droplets and particles containing sulphuric or nitric acids. They are mucosal irritants and can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, coughing and dyspnoea. High-level exposure to acid aerosols can interfere with mucociliary clearance in the respiratory tract, potentially reducing resistance to respiratory infections. People with asthma are particularly vulnerable to respiratory impairment.

Particulate matter

This is a complex mixture of solid and liquid particles of organic and inorganic substances suspended in the air. Larger particles settle in the nose and sinuses and smaller particles can penetrate deeper into the respiratory tract. The most damaging particles are those with a diameter of 10 microns or less (≤ PM10), which can penetrate and lodge deep inside the lungs.  

The health effects of exposure include aggravation of asthma and respiratory symptoms and, in the longer term, increased mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and from lung cancer. Those with pre-existing lung or heart disease, as well as elderly people and children, are particularly vulnerable. For example, exposure to particulate matter affects lung development in children, including reversible deficits in lung function as well as chronically reduced lung growth rate and a deficit in long-term lung function.

There is no evidence of a safe level of exposure or a threshold below which no adverse health effects occur.

Volatile organic chemicals

These include benzene, toluene and xylene. Exposure to these compounds can cause irritation to the eyes and respiratory tract, dizziness and headache. Benzene is a carcinogen and can cause aplastic anaemia and leukaemia.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

These are a wide range of compounds produced by the incomplete combustion of oil and other carbon-based fuels. These compounds are carcinogenic to the lungs and bladder.

Toxic metals

Lead: this is a multisystem toxicant that is particularly harmful to the developing brain and nervous system of young children, resulting in reduced IQ and behavioural problems. Chronic exposure can also increase the risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease in adults. No safe level of exposure has been identified.

Mercury: in aquatic environments this is converted to methylmercury, which bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in aquatic organisms. Contaminated fish and shellfish are a source of exposure to people who regularly eat these foods.  High levels of exposure to methylmercury damage the central nervous system and are also harmful to the developing fetus.

The particulate content varies in size. For example, during oil well fires in Kuwait particulate emissions averaged 2% of the fuel burned, of which about 20% were soot particles of 10 microns or less in diameter.


Pathways and routes of exposure

Air

Inhalation of chemicals and particles carried in smoke plumes near the source or beneath the plume is the primary route of exposure.

Soil and surface water

If there is significant deposition of plume components on soil and open water, this could become a source of low-level dermal and ingestion exposure to PAHs and toxic metals. Experience from limited soil sampling after the oil fires in Kuwait did not find excessive levels of PAHs or lead attributable to the plumes.   

Factors affecting environmental pollution, human exposure and the potential health hazard from burning oil

These include the following:

  • duration of the fires, the quantity of smoke generated and its content of toxic substances. Burning oil or fuel depots may extinguish more quickly than fires at oil wells;
  • weather conditions, for example:
    • a temperature inversion will trap the plume at a certain atmospheric level and will inhibit dispersion;
    • wind direction will determine where the plume goes and wind strength will affect the rate of dispersion and dilution of the plume; and
    • precipitation such as rain will carry contaminants out of the plume and deposit them on soil and surface water;
  • proximity of population to the fires;
  • concentrations of harmful pollutants in the breathing zone of adults and children;
  • availability of enclosed shelter and personal protection such as face masks; and
  • health condition of affected populations, for example very young, elderly, those with pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular conditions are more vulnerable to health impacts.

 

WHO Air Quality Guideline Values

These are available for selected pollutants:

 

Substance Guideline value
Particulate matter ≤2.5 micron (2021) 5 µg/m3   15 µg/m3 24-hour mean
Particulate matter ≤10 micron 15 µg/m3 annual mean 45 µg/m3 24-hour mean
Ozone (2021) 100 µg/m3 8-hour mean  
Nitrogen dioxide* (2021) 10 µg/m3 annual mean 200 µg/m3 1-hour mean (2006)
Sulfur dioxide (2021) 40 µg/m3 24-hour mean 500 µg/m3 10-minute mean
Lead (2000) 0.5 µg/m3 annual mean  
Mercury (2000) 1 µg/m3 annual mean  
Benzene (2000) No safe level of exposure.
Concentrations associated with excess lifetime risk of leukaemia are: 		 
 
 
 
1/10,000 excess risk
1/100,000 excess risk
1/1,000,000 excess risk 		17 µg/m3 
1.7 µg/m3 
0.17 µg/m3 
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (2000) No specific safe level of exposure.
Concentrations associated with excess lifetime risk of cancer are: 		 
1/10,000 excess risk
1/100,000 excess risk
1/1,000,000 excess risk 		1.2 ng/m3     
0.12 ng/m3 
0.012 ng/m3 

 

Q&As

 

Sources:

Wakefield JC. A toxicological review of the products of combustion UK Health Protection Agency 2010 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/458052/HPA-CHaPD-004_for_website.pdf

Rostker B. Environmental Exposure Report:  Oil Well Fires. US Department of Defense; 1998 http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/oil_well_fires/index.html

Spektor DM.  A review of scientific literature as it pertains to Gulf War illnesses. Vol 6 Oil well fires. Santa Monica: RAND; 1998  https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/2005/MR1018.6.pdf

Health effects of particulate matter. Policy implications for countries in eastern Europe, Caucasus and central Asia. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe;2013 http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/189051/Health-effects-of-particulate-matter-final-Eng.pdf?ua=1

Lead poisoning and health. Fact sheet. WHO 2016 https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health

Mercury and health. Fact sheet. WHO 2016 https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mercury-and-health

WHO global air quality guidelines: particulate matter (‎PM2.5 and PM10)‎, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide (2021) https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/345329/9789240034228-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

WHO Air quality guidelines for particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide Global update 2005. Summary of risk assessment. Geneva: WHO; 2006  http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/69477/1/WHO_SDE_PHE_OEH_06.02_eng.pdf

WHO Air quality guidelines for Europe, 2nd edition. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2000. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/74732/E71922.pdf?ua=1 


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