Risks of construction and operation of heat and power generating facilities (as exemplified by Sakhalin oblast)

The ecological risks of construction and operation of heat and power generating facilities in Sakhalin oblast have been investigated on the basis of a comparative-geographical analysis of the study areas. Risks are considered, which are associated with selection of main fuel for Sakhalin GRES–2 Power Plant, a change in the land use pattern and, hence, a loss of the ecological functions of geosystems, and with unfavorable natural conditions which are exacerbated in the construction process of the power plant. Vulnerable geosystems are revealed, and the eventual negative changes in the structure of flora and fauna in the construction area are determined. The problems of chemical and physical pollution caused by the operation of the projected GRES–2 are considered. The legal and socio-cultural aspects of the risks caused by construction activity are taken into consideration. Alternative variants are proposed for the siting of GRES–2 from the perspective of ecological risks: in the area of the village of Ilyinskoe (Tomarinskii district), on the western shore of Sakhalin; nearby the coal deposit in the Uglegorskii municipal district, and on the shore of the Terpeniya Gulf in the Poronaiskii district, in the immediate vicinities to the existing Sakhalin GRES–1. It was found that the industrial site of the existing Sakhalin GRES–1 in the area of the village of Ilyinskoe (Tomarinskii district) is an optimal variant for the construction from the standpoint of ecological risks.