Air Pollution Risk Assessment in Ukraine: Challenges and Opportunities (Research Brief)

Despite an existing strict regulatory structure for controlling air pollution in Ukraine, public health impacts of particulate matter emissions from coal-burning power plants remain a major concern. Focusing on a case study of the Burshtyn Thermal Electro-Station (TES) in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, this project attempts to quantify the human health risk associated with the coal combustion emissions resulting from the generation of electricity. In doing so, this research effort identifies potential inconsistencies between written law and implementation in practice, bureaucratic and cultural constraints on environmental assessment research, and major roadblocks to public access to environmental data and information in Ukraine. Fortunately, these circumstances create a situation ripe for collaboration, education, and advocacy.

Roxolana Kashuba, from the United States Geological Survey, was a 2011-2012 Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) fellow.