气候变化领域集成服务门户

The eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol is less than 10 miles from the front line of the country’s long-simmering conflict with Russia, and in the years since 2014, its residents have suffered shelling, rocket fire, and the relentless anxiety of life in a war zone. But some are worried about a less tangible threat that may be even more dangerous: pollution from the two ancient, hulking iron and steel plants that drive the city’s economy.

Mariupol is one of the most polluted cities in a nation whose air is among the dirtiest in Europe. Mired in war with its mighty neighbor, beset by corruption and dominated by a small number of super-rich oligarchs who wield outsize political influence, Ukraine has allowed its antiquated factories to pump out toxic pollution at levels far greater than permitted elsewhere on the continent.

“You can see the smoke—sometimes it’s orange; sometimes it’s gray. There’s a sour smell,” says Viktoriia Pikuz, a teacher who lives about half a mile from the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, which opened in 1897. Azovstal, the city’s other big steel plant, began production in the 1930s. Soot and ash darken clothing and surfaces, Pikuz says. “When you open the window for a few hours, you’ll have your windowsill covered.”

While Mariupol’s pollution is among the worst, Ukraine’s other big industrial cities—Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia—also have severe air quality problems. Dirty air, which is strongly linked to heart disease, cancer, dementia, and many other illnesses, cuts short an estimated 46,000 Ukrainians’ lives annually, according to the 2020 State of Global Air report.

Until a few years ago, Ukraine’s regulations for polluters had barely been updated since the Soviet era, says Martin Skalsky, head of Arnika, a Czech environment group aiding Ukranian activists. While some have now been tightened, companies have been slow to undertake the expensive overhauls needed to comply.