HELCOM announces the elimination of several major pollution Hot Spots in the Baltic Sea region

Vilnius, 22 June (HELCOM) – The Heads of Delegation to the Helsinki Commission for the protection of the Baltic marine environment (HELCOM), meeting in Lithuania’s capital from 21 to 22 June, today approved the removal of several Hot Spots from the list of the Baltic Sea’s most significant pollution sources following an extensive review of the clean up efforts.

Among these Hot Spots are several industrial plants and municipalities in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia, which have made vast improvements in updating of their processes and/or pollution abatement technologies.

“This is a very welcome development, confirming the strong commitment of the HELCOM Member States to eliminate all Hot Spots in the Baltic Sea drainage area,” said Arturas Daubaras, Chairman of the Helsinki Commission. “The remedial actions at the Hot Spots should be seen as one of the major steps towards achieving a cleaner marine environment. These ongoing activities are going to be part of the strategic Baltic Sea Action Plan, which is being created by HELCOM to restore the troubled Baltic marine environment,” said Daubaras.

The deleted Hot Spots are:

-          7 municipal wastewater treatment plant sub-hot-spots in St. Petersburg;

-          3 municipalities in Estonia including the capital Tallinn, as well as Pärnu and Paide;

-          1 coking plant “Pryjazn” in Katowice, as well as the metallurgical plant Duo-Stal in Bytom as it has been closed down;

-          2 municipalities in Lithuania, including Klaipeda and Siauliai as well as 3 industrial hot spots “Amalg Azotaz” fertiliser industry, Panezys food industry and the Klaipeda cardboard factory on the Lithuanian coast.  

“We are witnessing very good progress in the reduction of pollution from point sources such as municipal wastewater treatment facilities, as well as industrial plants,” said Kaj Forsius, Professional Secretary of HELCOM. “Wastewater treatment efficiency at the former Hot Spots now meets the requirements of the relevant HELCOM Recommendations.”

The “Hot Spots” list of the most significant point sources of pollution around the Baltic Sea was first drawn up under the HELCOM Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Programme (JCP) in 1992. The objective of the JCP is to facilitate the implementation of pollution reduction measures at the most polluted sites in the Baltic Sea drainage area. The programme, which should be completed by 2012 at the latest, specifies a series of actions to be undertaken at pollution Hot Spots. The most notorious Hot Spots are point sources such as municipal facilities and industrial plants, but the programme also covers pollution from agricultural areas and rural settlements, and sensitive areas such as coastal lagoons and wetlands where special environmental measures are needed. Certain Hot Spots have been split into Sub-Hot Spots in order to facilitate their management and actions to reduce pollution.

The environmental Hot Spots were designated in 1992 by an international group of scientists, engineers, environmental managers, bankers and national representatives, according to practical economic considerations as well as the seriousness of their impact on the environment and human health. As of today, a total of 81 Hot Spots and sub-Hot Spots remain on the list today, following the deletion of 82 of the identified 163 Hot Spots/sub-Hot Spots. Investment and remediation projects carried out at pollution Hot Spots around the Baltic Sea have contributed substantially towards overall pollution load reductions in the Baltic Sea catchment area.

Water quality in many coastal waters of the Baltic Sea has improved considerably since 1992, reflecting progress in the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater. But although significant progress has been made at municipal and industrial Hot Spots, continued and substantial additional support will be required to reach the targets of the programme.

For more information on the Hot Spots in the Baltic Sea catchment area, please visit: http://www.helcom.fi/projects/jcp/hotspots/en_GB/hotspots/

Contacts

HELCOM Secretariat

Mr Kaj Forsius
Professional Secretary
Tel: +358 (0)207 412 621
Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: kaj.forsius@helcom.fi

Mr Nikolay Vlasov
Information Secretary
Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635
Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi