Zaporizhzhia Abrasive Plant participated in the meeting of the standing commission of the Zaporizhzhia City Council on environmental issues, which took place in the executive committee of the city council, reporting on the company’s environmental protection measures within the framework of the agreement on joint actions.

The profile deputy commission, headed by the deputy of the city council, Nadiya Sevalnyeva, monitors the implementation of the programs and decisions of the council on environmental issues by industrial enterprises of the city of Zaporizhzhia, checks the activities of enterprises in terms of environmental protection measures, etc. and provides relevant conclusions and recommendations for consideration by the heads of enterprises and, if necessary, the city council. At the meeting of the commission with the participation of  “Zaporizhabrasive”, the implementation of the agreement on joint actions of the ZMR and industrial enterprises in the field of improving the state of the environment in the city of Zaporizhzhia dated 10/19/2020 was discussed. The agreement provides for the implementation of additional environmental protection measures aimed at implementing a system of operational monitoring of the state of ecological components with automatic reporting of the results obtained, reducing emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air from stationary sources of industrial enterprises of the city, reducing discharges of pollutants into water bodies, increasing the number of green spaces, etc.

The Commission heard and discussed the report of Dmytro Slyunin, Head of the Environmental Protection Department of “Zaporizhabrasive”, in which he described the main environmental protection measures being carried out at the plant.

Thus, he noted that “Zaporizhabrasive” products are manufactured using the latest technologies and undergo strict quality control. The achieved standards are confirmed by the ISO 9001:2015 certificate of conformity.

The company’s operational activities constantly optimise production to use natural resources rationally. For example, petroleum coke is used in production instead of coal, clarified stormwater is diverted instead of surface water from a water body, etc.

The enterprise’s investment activity aims to update production capacities, prevent and eliminate negative economic activity consequences, manage production waste, etc. Thus, the plant constantly cleans emissions from dust and gaseous harmful substances, disposes of waste, builds low-waste and waste-free production, etc.

The enterprise has 199 general sources of pollutants’ emissions into the atmosphere, of which 12 are main. ZAP conducts its economic activities exclusively within the framework of current legislation and on the basis of special permits.

Since 2022, due to the war in Ukraine, the plant has been reducing production volumes, contributing to reducing the negative environmental impact. However, to minimise the effects of economic activities on the environment, the plant continues to constantly carry out appropriate environmental protection measures in the fields of atmospheric air protection and protection and rational use of water resources.
As part of atmospheric air protection measures, the enterprise systematically monitors emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere, air quality in the sanitary protection zone of the plant, trains personnel servicing ventilation equipment, etc. Reconstruction of gas purification plants by introducing more efficient modern cartridge filters has been done. Unfortunately, for now, due to the start of military operations in Ukraine and the suspension of a significant number of plant productions, the implementation of the project to install automatic means of monitoring emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere at the primary emission source No. 225 has been suspended – work will be resumed after the end of military operations and the resumption of production.In the protection and rational use of water resources, water use is constantly recorded and monitored to ensure compliance with established limits for its use, laboratory monitoring of the quality composition of industrial effluents at discharge into surface water bodies, etc.

Relevant measures are also being taken in the fields of land protection and rational use of mineral resources, landscaping, and ensuring sanitary care of the plant’s territory and the territory adjacent to the enterprise.

As a result, after discussing the report of the head of the environmental protection department of “Zaporizhabrasive” Dmytro Slyunin, the commission did not comment on the plant’s environmental protection measures activities. The commission noted positive changes in the relationship between the plant and the city authorities that occurred after the change of management at the enterprise and expressed hope for an early improvement in the situation in the country, which will allow enterprises to return to suspended projects and carry out more additional environmental protection measures.

“First of all, I would like to say that “Zaporizhabrasive” notes the establishment of closer and more open cooperation with local authorities in recent times. Such cooperation has become possible in many ways thanks to the position of the head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA, Ivan Sergeevich Fedorov, who actively contributed to the establishment of strong relations at all levels of local authorities and in particular with the Zaporizhzhia City Council. This, in turn, contributes to the fruitful work of both parties on various issues, including environmental issues,” said Igor Burak, Chairman of the Board of “Zaporizhabrasive”.

According to him, “Zaporizhabrasive” always pays special attention to environmental protection activities and works in accordance with the requirements of current legislation, trying to comply not only with the necessary requirements but also with the highest standards.

“We hope for an early improvement in the situation in the country, which will allow us not only to complete the additional measures we have started earlier but also to develop further in the field of environmental protection measures, implementing new ambitious projects,” the Chairman of the Board added.

The head of the Environmental Protection Department of PrJSC “Zaporizhabraziv” Dmytro Slyunin, noted that in the enterprise’s environmental protection activities, specialists of the Department are guided not only exclusively by environmental legislation but also pay significant attention to interaction and cooperation with local governments and control bodies.

“Cooperation involves participation in permanent commissions, meetings, working groups, conferences, and seminars, where not only discussions on current issues are held, but proposals are also made. This helps to understand the main processes, awareness of a significant amount of information, and control innovations to systematise and generalise information on environmental protection activities as a whole,” added Dmytro Slyunin.