OREANDA-NEWS. June 20, 2008. The advisory talks on that theme were held in the Ministry of Natural Resources of the RF. The following persons took part in the talks: Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia, HELCOM’s Chairman Igor Maydanov, HELCOM LAND’s Chairman Leonid Korovin (Land-based Pollution Group), and Deputy General Director for Ecology of the NWTC Yury Murashko.

Leonid Korovin reported about consideration of decreasing hazardous influence of NPPM on the environment at the HELCOM LAND Meeting and at the Meeting for implementation of Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Program (JCP) in May, 2008 in Kaliningrad. In final decessions the Meeting took note of the big progress in environmental performance of the enterprise.

The Deputy General Director for Ecology reported about decrease of water consumption and hazardous emissions and discharges from NPPM: “In the 1 quarter of 2008 we decreased fresh water consumption in comparison with 2007, and increased consumption of recycled water. In 2007 the mill consumed 18.8 thousand cubic meters of fresh water and 10.7 thousand cubic meters of recycled water. According to our forecast based on the data for the first months of 2008 we will reach the consumption of 15 thousand cubic meters of fresh water and 14 thousand cubic meters of recycled water by the end of year. We continue to decrease discharges of the major pollutants. We will decrease BOD by 100 tones per year, COD by 4000 tones, N-tot. by 16 tones, and suspended solids discharges by 300 tones, and lignin by 115 tones. The results are connected with the final adjusting of water supply and water treatment cycle at the local water treatment facilities in the new TCF-production”.

Yury Murashko reported that the new joint complex of wastewater treatment plants would be put into operation in the IV quarter of 2009. Nevertheless, the discharges and emissions from the mill are even lower than HELCOM standards: AOX now is not more than 0, 02 kg/t (HELCOM Recommendation is 0, 5 kg/t), P-tot. is 0,004 kg/t (HELCOM Recommendation is 0, 5 kg/t), N-tot. is 0, 56 kg/t (HELCOM Recommendation is 0, 7 kg/t).

Igor Maydanov said that the Russian Federation would take the chair in HELCOM starting from 1 July, 2008. “That will add commitments to you in solving environmental problems of the Baltic Sea region. Your enterprise has reached the big progress in ecological safety and has improved the ecological state in the Baltic Sea region”, he said.