Following the completion of a detailed assessment of the contaminated area, the Terra Response Network team is moving from research to the first practical actions. One of these steps was a pilot cleanup of petroleum contamination in a well at 49 Mohylivska Street.

What the Research Showedло дослідження

The highest levels of soil contamination were found in areas where petroleum products were not removed from the surface immediately after the spill, remained there for several days, and had time to penetrate into the soil.

Rapid use of an oil-absorbing sorbent makes it possible to bind most of the petroleum product while it is still on the surface. This significantly reduces the scale of contamination and the future cost of cleanup.

Why We Started with a Well

For residents of private households, water is one of the main ways they come into contact with the contamination. Two years after the spill, traces of petroleum products are still present in the water and on the walls of wells.колодязів.

How the Cleanup Was Carried Out

First, we used SoilGuard, an oil-absorbing sorbent that binds the main mass of petroleum product. In about two minutes, it completely collected the petroleum product from the surface.

We then applied AquaGuard 250, which disperses and biodegrades the remaining oil film on the water and on the walls of the well.

As a result, the water and the well walls became visibly clean, and the oil film disappeared.

Visual Results Were Supplemented by Laboratory Control

To ensure that the assessment was not based on observation alone, specialists from the Environmental and Analytical Research Laboratory of the Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Ecological Problems collected water samples for independent control.

After the cleanup, the municipal utility “Complex for the Operation of Water Lowering and Stormwater Drainage Facilities” pumped out the water, allowing the well to refill with groundwater.

Help That Can Be Provided Now

According to preliminary estimates, around 220 private households are located within the contaminated area, and a significant number of them use their own wells. This means that the problem of contaminated water affects many people.

Well cleanup is a relatively simple and low-cost measure that can be carried out quickly. It does not solve the entire contamination problem, but it can already make a real difference in people’s daily lives by giving them back the ability to use water safely in their own homes.