[Summary translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

Profits for hucksters, poison for people, death for Polissya, December 22, 2020
Preparations for the extraction of poisonous beryllium and the digging of mines have begun in Polissya. Perzhanska Ore Company is carrying out preparatory work for beryllium mining. The company justifies its right to do so by obtaining a permit from the State Service of Geology and Subsoil and an environmental impact assessment issued by the Ministry of Energy (now the Ministry of Environment).

The video of the start of the work was shared by concerned citizens from Zhytomyr region, and the position of Perzhanska Ore Mining is known from discussions in a court case led by the Kyiv Ecological and Cultural Center and EcoPravo-Kyiv. These organizations are demanding that the special permit for subsoil use issued by the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources be revoked in court.

One of the arguments of the environmentalists is that the construction of the mine is illegal because part of it will pass under the territory of the Polissya Nature Reserve. This reserve is not only valuable in its own right, but is also seen as the core of the future Pripyat Polissia International Biosphere Reserve. A group of Ukrainian and international organizations is currently creating such a reserve.

In addition, the construction of the mine carries the risk of polluting groundwater, rivers, and soil. The water level could drop significantly over a large area. And not only the wells of local residents will be affected. This will affect the water supply of the entire Polissia region, and thus Dnipro River. Experts from various organizations warned about the poor quality of the environmental impact assessment report and urged the Ministry of Energy not to approve it. But despite these warnings, the EIA report was approved.