V. Put 10 questions of all types to the text to make up a plan.

VI. Retell the text, using your questions as a plan.

VII. Learn the new words, read and translate the text.

hazardous – опасный

wastes – отходы

dumps – свалки

leakage – утечка

hard wastes processing – переработка твердых отходов

headquarters of civil defense – штаб гражданской обороны

to contaminate – загрязнять

to sort out toxic wastes – отсортировывать ядовитые (токсичные) отходы

Toxic waste problem in the Belarusian capital

Minsk is a big industrial city with many enterprises and companies located on its terri­tory. Some of them are chemi­cally hazardous.

There are 36 units of that kind (including water pools and dairy factories) in the capital, and five more in Minsk region. Aside from that, there are three radiation dangerous facilities – the health center Sosny, the pharmaceutical company Belmedpreparaty and clinic №5. All these units are under strict control.

However, thousands of tons of toxic waste go to city dumps. There are four waste facilities outside Minsk. In terms of size, the Trostenetskaya dump is the biggest one.

The biggest dumps emit too many harmful substances and it is almost impossible to stop leakage beyond dumps' bound­aries. Therefore, the pollution of underground waters and air escalates. Besides, no one con­trols trucks that bring wastes, often toxic and dangerous, from the capital every day.

Possibilities of hard wastes processing are out of the question. There is one small processing plant in Minsk outskirts Shabany. It could process only some type of wastes, but there are no facilities to sort out toxic wastes. The project to create a special dump for chemical wastes in the Minsk region was under discus­sion two years ago. Locals, how­ever, rejected the plan.

The headquarters of civil defence coordinates the activi­ties to secure chemical safety at Minsk enterprises. Special con­trol devices are in place or would be installed in the near future at all potentially danger­ous companies. New equipment allows controlling the radiation level and the concentration of chemical substances in the air, the direction and velocity of wind and poisonous clouds in case of an accident.

As for the most hazardous substances, even small reser­voirs (55 litres of chlorine) are being strictly controlled. Ac­cording to the head of the civil defence headquarters, the potentially dangerous facilities include the Minsk water supply plant (80 tons of chlorine), the Minsk meat plant (85 tons of ammo­nia), the Minsk motorcycle and bike producing plant (stores up to 60 tons of hydrochloric acid in 20 tons reservoirs). In case of a leakage at one of these plants, the territory of 1.5 to 8 kilometres could be contaminated.

Trucks loaded with chemi­cally dangerous substances con­stantly drive through the capital. There are special instructions and routes for such vehicles to pass Minsk safely. All drivers have personal protection facili­ties. People living near these dangerous truck routes and heads of companies located close to them have been properly instructed as well.

The problem of toxic and other hazardous wastes esca­lates in Minsk. Although most Minsk-based enterprises use only half of the dangerous ca­pacities, their facilities are out­dated and threaten human life. New control devices, which are being installed, are switched off most of the time and are turned on only for general checks.