Sub-title: Use of RECASS software package in supporting expert decision-making, the development of response measures, and informing the public in the event of environmental pollution due to industrial accidents or emissions

Country: Russian Federation  

Date: June 2020

Category: Tools / measures

Tags: Environmental Effects and Pollution Monitoring, Industrial Chemical Accidents, Provision of Information to the Public

Organization(s) involved: Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Rosgosgydromet), Federal State Budgetary Institution “Research and Production Association Typhoon”

The main purpose of the Radio Ecological Analysis Support System (RECASS), which was developed by Typhoon Association, is to assess the situation and forecast the consequences of a release (as a result of emissions, discharges, spills, explosions and fires) of pollutants into the environment. It was originally developed to assess and forecast the radiation effects of accidents at hazardous industrial facilities but has since been expanded to emissions.

The main tasks of the system include the collection of data on the state and level of environmental pollution and meteorological information, operational analysis of the situation and forecast of the spread of pollution in the event of emissions or accidental releases into the environment, as well as the development of recommendations for taking protective measures for the population in the area that could be potentially affected by an accident. The RECASS makes it possible to calculate both the atmospheric transmission of pollution and precipitation to the earth’s surface, as well as the transmission of pollution into surface waters.

RECASS is used by many enterprises that perform hazardous operations, and in the Federal State Service Rosgosgydromet, it is used regularly during the drills and trainings.

Any emergency that can potentially lead to environmental damage outside of the operating site is analyzed based on the calculations of the RECASS system. For example, in May 2020 in Norilsk at the Thermal Power Plant-3 of the Nadezhda metallurgical plant, as a result of accidental damage to the reservoir, 21 thousand tons of diesel fuel were leaked, most of which entered the Daldykan stream, the Daldykan river and then the Ambarnaya river, which flows into Lake Pyasino. Even though a large portion of the pollution on the water surface was retained, a significant amount of hazardous chemicals (including hydrocarbons and paraffins in a dissolved and suspended state) entered the water of the Ambarnaya River. During the period of 4-12 June, the Typhoon Association specialists prepared daily forecasts of river pollution using the hydrological module of the RECASS system. The results were then transmitted to the Ministry of Emergency Situations and were taken into account when carrying out operational work to eliminate the consequences of an oil spill and were also used to inform the public. During this period, the development of the situation showed that the forecasts were highly reliable.

The RECASS system is one of the tools for implementing the provisions 8, 9 and 11 of the UNECE Industrial Accidents Convention. It also contributes to the achievement of SDGs 3, 6, 9 and 16 as well as the achievement of global target (g) of the Sendai Framework (section II, para. 18). 

The details of this good practice can be found at:

The webpage of the Research and Production Association Typhoon: www.rpatyphoon.ru/products/software-hardware/recass.php (in Russian)

Sub-title: Development of a method to perform state supervision of energy facilities, in which the choice of the frequency of inspections and measures to prevent accidents depends on the risk category

Country: Russian Federation  

Date: 2015-2019

Category: Legislation, Measures

Tags: State Supervision/Monitoring of Industrial Facilities, Energy Facilities, Industrial Safety, Risk Categories

Organization(s) involved: Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision

In 2015, article 8.1 “Application of a risk-based approach in organizing state control (supervision)” was included in the Federal Law of 26.12.2008. This article is aimed at reforming supervisory activities and introducing a risk-based approach as a method for organizing state supervision of the operation and safety of energy facilities. The determination of the intensity of supervision depends on the risk category of an industrial facility (the higher the category, the more often control and supervisory activities are carried out). 

By Decree No. 806 of the Russian Government dd 17.08.2016 a list of types of state supervision was determined, including state energy supervision. The main criteria for determining a certain risk category of industrial enterprises were the likelihood of violations of state requirements such as those that could lead to industrial/chemical accidents, and the severity of the consequences of such violations or accidents. 

When determining the risk category specifically for energy facilities, the following factors were considered:

·       the operational specifics (power plants, power grid complex, power plants of consumers, etc.); and

·       the capacity or output capability of a facility.

An important feature of the risk-based approach is the possibility to change the risk category in the event of an accident or an administrative breach at the facility, which acts as an internal mechanism aimed at encouraging industrial enterprises to improve the safety of their technological processes.

In the period from 2016 to 2019 all energy facilities were assigned a risk category, on the basis of which a schedule of their supervisory activities was developed. Through this process, 2% of such enterprises were identified with the highest degree of risk, for which the level of supervision by the authorities is higher.

The transition to a risk-based approach for control and supervisory activities allowed the state:

·       to create at the national level the prerequisites for reducing accidents and injuries to personnel at energy facilities by improving the system for preventing violations of state requirements and industrial accidents; and

·       to establish a list of the most hazardous industrial facilities, where accidents have the potential to have serious effects on human health and the environment.

The details of this good practice can be found at:

The presentation by D.I. Frolov, Head of the State Energy Supervision Department https://digitalsubstation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1.-Rostehnadzor-Frolov-D.I.pdf (in Russian)

Sub-title: Development of a set of legislative acts and measures to stimulate the transition of large industrial facilities to the best available technologies

Country: Russian Federation  

Date: 2014-2019

Category: Policy

Tags: Best Available Technologies, Transition to Sustainable Industries

Organization(s) involved: Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation

A federal environmental protection law (Law 219-FL) came into force in the Russian Federation in 2014. This law establishes the principles of environmental regulation for industrial enterprises. It primarily provides for stricter environmental requirements for the enterprises with significant negative environmental impact (NEI) classified as Category I under Law 219-FL. All industrial enterprises in the Russian Federation are divided into four categories in terms of their potential negative impact on the environment. Category I includes facilities that have the most significant negative impact on the environment, i.e. major polluters. The criteria for classifying an enterprise into a specific category are set out in a separate regulatory act - Government Decree No.1029 dd 28 September 2015.

Since the introduction of this legislation, all industrial enterprises under Category I are subject to a mandatory transition to the best available technologies (BAT) (including technologies for manufacturing of products (goods), operational performance, provision of services), based on modern and state-of-the-art technologies and the best combination of criteria for achieving environmental protection goals, provided that the BAT are technically feasibility in each case. Consequently, the implementation of BAT for the main polluting enterprises has resulted in a significant reduction of their negative impact on the environment. According to the Environmental Safety Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2035, approved by Presidential Decree No. 176 dd 19.04.2017, reinforcement of BAT implementation has become one of the main mechanisms for implementing state policy in the field of environmental safety. Moreover, in addition to reducing the negative impact of enterprises on the environment, the transition to BAT has opened up new growth opportunities for domestic equipment manufacturers. Approximately 50 information and technical reference books on BAT and a number of by-laws were developed during 2015 to 2017 in order to implement the Law 2019-FL in the Russian Federation.

The introduction of BAT therefore helps to reduce the negative impacts of industry on the environment and works towards the achievement of SDG 9 in relation to sustainable industry.

The details of this good practice can be found at:

The website of the Federal project “Implementation of the best available technologies”, Ministry of Industry and Trade: https://minpromtorg.gov.ru/projects/ndt/ (in Russian) and the Best Available Technologies (BAT) Bureau website and BAT information and technical reference books: www.burondt.ru (in Russian)

Training exercise to eliminate conditional accidental oil spill from the long-distance oil pipelines

Sub-title: Training exercise to test the joint actions in case of a conditional transboundary accident on the long-distance pipeline "Unecha - Andreapol - Ust-Luga" across the Dnieper River with the oil spills during summertime 

Country: Russian Federation, Belarus 

Date: 2012 

Category: Policy, measures, plans 

Tags: Industrial Accidents Notification Systems, Industrial Safety, Technology exchange 

Organization(s) involved: "Transneft - Druzhba" JSC (Russian Federation), "Polotsktransneftdruzhba" (Belarus), Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus 

In 2012, under the auspices of the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents, the Russian Federation and Belarus held training exercises to develop joint actions to eliminate conditional accidental oil spills from the long-distance oil pipeline.  

The training exercise was conducted in three phases at three locations in Russia and Belarus. First, according to the concept of the exercise,  due to ground subsidence, the conditional destruction of the oil pipeline across the Dnieper River caused oil discharge into the river, spreading into the territory of Belarus, which was reaching the Zubovo settlement (Orsha district of Vitebsk oblast) within three days. Furthermore, during the emergency response, there was a conditional oil fire (in the area of Zubovo village-"Unecha-Ventspils" "Polotsktransneftdruzhba" JSC), which spread into the woodland area and threatened the human settlements.  

During the exercise, the Russian Federation and Belarus had the opportunity to jointly test emergency preparedness, response, notification and mitigation systems, emergency monitoring and assessment, decision-making, mobilization and management of the response forces and means, and the existing location and mitigation plans of emergency oil spills. In addition, there was real-time communication with the control and response centres in Moscow, Minsk, Smolensk and the affected human settlements. A simultaneous video bridge between the field and the fixed control centers marked the training. 

The exercise concluded with a demonstration of machinery and rescue equipment. It confirmed the high level of preparedness of the emergency services of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus to transboundary accidents associated with accidental oil spill from long-distance oil pipelines. 

The details of this good practice can be found at: 

The website of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters: 

https://www.mchs.gov.ru/deyatelnost/press-centr/novosti/1441307 (in Russian) 

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