Russian destruction of Kakhovka Dam unleashes ‘toxic time bomb,’ study finds

The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station dam along the Dnipro River on June 6, 2023 that released millions of cubic meters of water led to the destruction of local ecosystems and the contamination of the reservoir with heavy metals and other toxic substances, according to a study published in the Science journal, as reported by nauka.ua.

This deliberate Kremlin affront has created a “toxic time-bomb,” releasing tons of heavy metals into the environment. Researchers have compared the impact of the dam’s destruction to the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear fallout.

“All pollutants that settled at the bottom may accumulate in various organisms, passing through the food chain and reaching plants, animals, and ultimately humans,” said Oleksandra Shumilova, the lead author of the study from Mykolaiv. “The consequences can be compared to the effects of radiation,”

The study analyzed contamination levels before the disaster and modeled the spread of toxic elements afterward.

“Although media attention has focused on the immediate impacts of flooding on society, politics, and the economy, our results show that toxic contamination within newly exposed sediments of the former reservoir bed poses a largely overlooked long-term threat to freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems,” the study states about the environmental consequences

For years, factories upstream along the Dnipro River, Europe’s fourth longest river, have contributed to the contamination of the Kakhovka Reservoir with nickel, cadmium, lead, and other toxic substances. 

Scientists estimate that up to 83,000 tons of these hazardous materials may have accumulated in the reservoir’s sediments.

Following its destruction, the contaminated sediment spread both downstream and upstream due to turbulent water flows mixing different layers. 

While less than 1 percent of the nearly two cubic kilometers of sediment was washed downstream, seasonal flooding continues to leach toxic elements from the dried sediment, returning them to the Dnipro River. 

This increases the risk to human health, as these elements can accumulate in plants and animals, entering the food chain and ultimately affecting people.

Local residents who still rely on water from lakes formed after the dam’s destruction are exposed to serious health risks due to the toxic contamination. Scientists stress the urgent need for measures to minimize the harmful effects on public health and to restore the region’s ecosystem.

The 2023 disaster, which is considered one of the most significant environmental and infrastructural losses of the Russo-Ukrainian war, led to an ecocide, marking another war crime by the Kremlin in Ukraine.