2019
Finland-led international project reduces the environmental risks of heavy weapons
The international cooperation project that Finland has led to reduce the environmental impact of heavy weapons has been completed.
- We are now able to reduce the risks of harmful substances entering the soil more effectively than before. The guidelines provide new solutions for the protection of groundwater and the purification of drainage water in firing and exercises areas, says planning officer Sami Heikkilä from the Ministry of Defence.
– It is not feasible to draw up technical and operational guidelines of this magnitude without cooperation partners. The Defence Command Finland therefore embarked on leading an exceptional project involving experts from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the United States and Canada.
Environmental inspector Terhi Svanström
from the Defence Command Finland led the project. She notes that the project
brought together previously dispersed information on the effects of heavy
weapon firing and explosions on the environment. At the same time, a procedure was established
for risk assessment and for selecting the most appropriate risk management
methods.
– As a result, we were able to put
together a comprehensive information package on the environmental protection of
firing and exercise areas.
The report was drawn up in such a way that it serves as a guide for the users of firing areas, authorities and environmental consultants. It deals with the environmental impacts of noise, natural assets and the management of harmful substances.
- When the process we established during the project is followed, soil and water protection will become more systematic in exercise areas. While jointly creating an international vision of the environmental impacts of heavy weapons we also developed risk management, which can be promoted by other countries and international organisations,” Heikkilä emphasises.
The cooperation project was launched in 2015 on Finland’s initiative. The project’s publication Environmental Protection of Heavy Weapon Ranges: Technical and Practical Solutions (EPHW) can be found on the Ministry of Defence website at www.defmin.fi
https://www.defmin.fi/files/4739/EPHW_FINAL_(003).pdf
Inquiries: planning officer Sami Heikkilä, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 452 and environmental inspector Terhi Svanström, Defence Command Finland, tel. +358 299 800 (switchboard).