WRITTEN QUESTION P-1894/00 by Jan Wiersma (PSE) to the Commission. Forest fires in polluted areas of Belarus and the Ukraine.
Date: 2000-06-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belarus, EU environmental policy, Ukraine, fire, forest, health risk, nuclear accident

6.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 72 E/145

(2001/C 72 E/181)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1894/00

by Jan Wiersma (PSE) to the Commission

(6 June 2000)

Subject: Forest fires in polluted areas of Belarus and the Ukraine

Is there any truth in the reports that forest fires have broken out in Belarus and the Ukraine in areas

1.
polluted as a result of the Chernobyl disaster?

2. Will these fires result in greater risks for public health in the countries in question and beyond?

3.

4.

Have the fires prompted action by the European Union, or will they prompt such action?

In what way is the EU helping to control the risks of pollution in Belarus and the Ukraine?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 2000)

Several forest and peat fires broke out in Belarus and Ukraine in mid May 2000. The Commission has no
information suggesting that these fires broke out as a result of the Chernobyl accident.

However, some of
the forests involved are contaminated, and the fires may therefore constitute a
mechanism for spreading radioactivity. This issue was the subject of Commission research projects within
a programme of international cooperation on the environment and health consequences of the Chernobyl
accident. The investigations found that only a marginal fraction of the total inventory of radionuclides
existing in contaminated forests can be suspended in the air once more following a fire. The recent fires
seem to reinforce this finding, since only small increases were recorded in the levels of radiation.

Regarding new initiatives to respond to this situation the Commission will keep the situation under review.
It is worth recalling that the Commission has an active programme of assistance in this field, which
continues to address the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. This includes
assistance to build an adequate shelter for the reactor, to improve radioactive waste management and to
address the environmental aspects of the situation. A Commission funded pilot project to install radiation
monitoring systems for air and river water was initiated in Ukraine and Belarus during 1995. These
systems are in operation.

Moreover, medical and humanitarian assistance has been provided to the inhabitants of the areas worst
affected by the disaster.

(2001/C 72 E/182)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1899/00

by Hans-Peter Martin (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: EU assistance for the Internet website (cid:145)S(cid:252)dtirol-Online(cid:146)

(16 June 2000)

Is it true that, as part of the ADAPT programme, the Commission has assisted the Internet service

1.
(cid:145)S(cid:252)dtirol-Online(cid:146) of the Athesia publishing house with 1 billion lire through the project sponsor D.Net?

How does the Commission explain the contention that, while the official project description states
2.
that the EU assistance is intended for the Internet training of 40 to 50 journalists, only 11 people are
employed at (cid:145)S(cid:252)dtirol-Online(cid:146)? How has the Commission reacted to public criticism levelled in this
connection at Athesia, D.Net and (cid:145)S(cid:252)dtirol-Online(cid:146), and what information can it provide on precisely how
resources have been spent on this project? What overall conclusion has been reached in any evaluations so
far made of this project?