Enhancing Ukraine’s chemical emergency response capacity

Industrial infrastructure can bear significant risks of chemical emergencies. For Ukraine, the war has caused a rapid escalation of the number and frequency of such incidents, making those risks much higher and less predictable. Shelling or rocket strikes in the vicinity of industrial, nuclear and chemical facilities across the country heightens threats to the lives and health of people, and also exposes the environment to long-term harm. Damage to toxic waste and pesticide storage installations, ammonia pipelines, water purification stations, petrochemical and oil refining facilities is prone to the accidental release of hazardous substances.

In these conditions, effective, timely, and co-ordinated efforts to mitigate the consequences for civilians and for the environment is extremely important. This project aims to help increase the capacity of Ukrainian first-responders and border guards to deal with emergencies involving hazardous chemicals.

To that end, the OSCE will help the country’s State Emergency Service to improve its chemical sampling procedures for hazards identification and will provide a mobile chemical identification laboratory for rapid on-site analysis and assessment of chemical hazards to obtain critical information for swift decision-making. The assistance will also include the development of software for advanced forecasting of chemical contamination spread to manage rescue operations and efforts to stop the spread of the hazard. Provision of personal protective and decontamination equipment alongside with thematic trainings for State Emergency Service and State Border Guard Service will enhance their technical and practical capacities to operate in the emergency areas. Practical table-top exercises will build skills of civilian defence personnel to effectively protect people and environment from chemical hazards. Development of awareness-raising materials for the civilians on safety procedures will help to reach out to the wider audience of people, especially those living in the potential risk areas. 

This effort is part of the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine implemented with contributions from the Organization's participating States; see full list of the Programme's donors.