On the eve of the World Environment Day, JSC Volga’s Chief Ecologist Svetlana Lomash talks about how the Company’s environmental policy is being implemented and what environmental activities will be carried out in 2020.
JSC Volga’s priorities in the environmental area are to plan and put into action various activities related to nature conservation in the regions where the Company operates. Equally important is ensuring an effective use of power and raw materials.
In general, Volga’s environmental policy is successfully in place. It is based on quite transparent guidelines which include requirements to ensure the compliance of industrial processes with the environmental laws and regulations, a systematic approach to environmental safety based on risks analysis and management, transparency of environmental information, etc.
All such activities are administered by Volga’s Ecological Agency.
“In 2019, the Company launched a comprehensive external audit of the industrial and environmental activities at its sites,” says Svetlana Lomash. “Our plans for 2020 call for drawing up of an action program to improve controllability of environmental activities using the best industry practices and implementation of a vertically integrated environmental accounting and reporting system.”
In 2019, Volga carried out a series of works, both at its main and auxiliary facilities, to ensure high efficiency of gas treatment equipment and reduction of air emissions.
These works included inspection of the ventilation systems at the thermo-mechanical pulp mill and paper-making department No3, replacement of electrodes at the electrostatic precipitator (gas treatment equipment) and repair of the ash handling system at the waste heat boiler. In addition, operating conditions at the power plant boilers (NiGRES power plant) were adjusted to achieve optimum performance, which also resulted in reduction of hazardous emissions.
“The Company has been intensively trying to reduce waste water discharges and achieve maximum recirculation of waste water in the process. To that effect, the Company carried out an overhaul of the disc filters at the thermo-mechanical pulp mill and installed new suspension recovery screens at the wood handling department,” adds Svetlana Lomash. “Volga paper mill is committed to prevent contamination of the Volga river. We regularly clean up the river bank, take care to ensure reliable operation of the water intake facilities and particularly fish protection devices designed to conserve the biological resources of the Volga river.
“Notwithstanding our 2019 achievements, we are facing some very important tasks ahead. Environmental investments will be increased 4-fold in 2020. The most important items on the agenda are sustainable use and protection of water as a natural resource, improvement of waste management practices and atmospheric air protection.”
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