Ecology comes first

In the modern world, the topic of ecology is one of the most important, including on construction sites. Mosmetrostroy pays great attention to this issue, and our leading ecologist Olga Eremina was recognized as the best according to the results of an assessment of organizations and specialists in the field of environmental protection at the construction sites of Mosinzhproekt JSC. Our correspondent found out how Olga Igorevna managed to become one of the best professionals in her field.

Olga Eremina controls environmental safety at 36 construction sites. At each site, everything must comply with the requirements of environmental legislation and design documentation. By following them, it is possible to minimize the adverse impact on the environment during work during the construction period.

Olga Eremina has been dealing with environmental issues for almost thirty years. The award came as a complete surprise to her.

“I just did my job and the tasks assigned to me.” This is not only my merit, it is a responsible approach to environmental protection issues by ecologists and responsible persons appointed for environmental protection by Mosmetrostroy contracting organizations. This is the daily painstaking work of all site managers and their teams, who impeccably fulfill all our instructions,” admits Olga Eremina. – We are a strong organization, we have many sensible, responsible specialists. We will strive to receive the title of the best contracting organization at Mosinzhproekt construction sites in the field of environmental protection.

The working day develops differently. Usually these are daily checks, which usually take place according to a schedule approved by the chief engineer of Mosmetrostroy. If, as a result, violations of environmental legislation are revealed, then the contracting organizations are issued an order to carry out measures to eliminate the identified violations, indicating the deadlines. In addition to our ecologist, compliance with the requirements is monitored by Mosinzhproekt JSC, and on the part of government bodies - Mosgosstroynadzor, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Rosprirodnadzor. On days free from inspections, the so-called “office” days, work is carried out to maintain environmental documentation and resolve issues related to the safety of the environment and the population.

Olga Eremina was born in Moscow into a family of railway workers. There was no question about choosing a profession; I followed in the footsteps of my parents, graduating from the Moscow Institute of Railway Transport Engineers (MIIT) with a degree in railway transportation engineer specializing in railway transportation processes. I planned to work in the metro as a dispatcher, but fate decreed otherwise. After defending my diploma and taking maternity leave, a friend called me to Mosmetrostroy at SMU-9. Olga was hired to work in the department of the chief power engineer as an energy engineer, and she never regretted her decision.

Environmental issues began to appear in the early 90s, when, according to legal requirements, an ecologist or environmental engineer had to appear at the enterprise. There was a lot of work to be done to develop environmental projects, obtain environmental permits, and submit reports to government agencies. Therefore, Olga had to improve her qualifications and undergo training as an environmental protection engineer at construction sites. Everything had to be studied and mastered while working. There was no separate position as an environmental engineer; it was a combined position.

After the reorganization of SMU-9 in 2019, Olga was invited to the Mosmetrostroy Department to the position of leading ecologist. In addition to the veteran’s medal and gratitude from the mayor of Moscow, the title of the best specialist in the field of environmental protection at construction sites of Mosinzhproekt JSC has now been added. Olga Igorevna admits that she loves her job very much. In the Moscow Metrostroy I met many good people, including my future husband.

“As practice shows, there is more order at construction sites where work is carried out by one contractor,” Eremina shared. – Everything, of course, depends on the production culture. It is not difficult to comply with basic environmental requirements; you need to maintain cleanliness and order, do not litter the area, remove construction and household waste in a timely manner, enter into timely contracts with specialized waste removal organizations in order to minimize the negative impact on the environment and avoid unnecessary administrative fines.

At the same time, Olga Eremina, together with the staff of our laboratory (ShPSL), constantly conducts industrial environmental control and monitoring to determine the degree of impact of the facility under construction on the environment. These are measurements of emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air, analyzes of wastewater samples discharged into the centralized Mosvodostok system, measurements of noise levels in the area immediately adjacent to residential buildings. Often noise is a big problem if the construction site is located in a dense urban area. To minimize the discomfort of residents of nearby houses, noise protection measures are provided.

“One of our main problems is, of course, garbage,” the ecologist admits, “they try to remove it at the sites in a timely manner, but failures also occur.

A separate point in the work of an ecologist is the control of green spaces. Every tree in Moscow has been counted and is registered with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. A dendroplan is developed for each site, which indicates which trees and shrubs are to be cut down and which are to be preserved. They are fenced according to the rules of the law on green spaces. If the tree is injured, which happens during the work, the wounds are treated and protected in every possible way. After completion of construction, compensatory landscaping is carried out at the improvement stage.

This applies to construction sites, and there is also mandatory environmental documentation, environmental reporting, which must be submitted within a certain time frame, so it is impossible to do without a professional ecologist or environmental engineer.

Among the problems in the field of ecology, Olga Eremina notes the lack of full-time specialized specialists in our contracting organizations with whom we can speak the same language. Of course, they exist, but not in all contracting organizations. Often part-time workers deal with environmental issues.

Tightening legislation over the past ten years has led to the fact that even in a small manufacturing enterprise it is necessary to introduce a special position related to environmental protection, and sometimes even organize an entire department. Thus, from January of this year, all capital construction projects are subject to mandatory registration as having a negative impact on the environment with the assignment of the third category of the object to an NVOS. Contractor organizations deal with this issue, and as soon as the object is registered in a special register, it comes under the control of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. And these are inspections, reports, development of the PEC program and a report on its implementation, payment for negative impact on the environment.

Environmental issues do not leave Olga Eremina at home either. In their family, it is customary to properly dispose of garbage. Children, and Olga has three of them, are sensitive to the separate distribution of household waste.