Russia Approves Chemical and Biological Security Programme Concept

Text of report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti

Moscow, 1 February: The government of the Russian Federation has approved the concept of the federal targeted-development programme the National system of chemical and biological security of the Russian Federation for 2009-2013, the cabinet press service reported on Friday [1 February].

The functions of the state customer – coordinator of the federal targeted-development programme have been conferred on the Ministry of Health and Social Development. The Ministry of Health and Social Development, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Emergencies Ministry, the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection, the Russian Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service and the Russian Federal Industry Agency will be the state customers.

The federal targeted-development programme will be financed from the federal budget to the tune of R28.74bn and from the budgets of the Russian Federation’s constituent parts, from 2010, to the tune of R3.51bn.

There are also plans to raise, from 2010, approximately R2.2bn of non-budget funds. For this purpose, it is planned that temporary regulations for working out mechanisms of public-private partnership in the area of chemical and biological security will be drawn up and approved.

The federal targeted-development programme provides for a reduction in the degree of danger and threat to public health from hazardous chemical and biological facilities through their modernization and technical re-equipment, the development of integrated scientific and procedural approaches as well as technologies and means that will offer protection from hazardous chemical and biological factors.

The programme envisages an integrated analysis and monitoring of the sphere of chemical and biological security, the improvement of relevant regulatory norms and coordination of activities of bodies of the executive in this field.

Under the federal targeted-development programme it is planned to provide more information to the public, create the conditions for the training of personnel and the introduction by government bodies of instruments for the management of risks associated with the negative impact of hazardous chemical and biological factors on the environment.

At present, there are over 10,000 potentially hazardous chemical facilities of the fuel-and-energy ferrous and non-ferrous metals, chemical, pulp-and-paper and food industries. The vast majority of these facilities were built and put into operation 40-50 years ago.

Around 40m cases of infectious diseases are registered in Russia each year. Annual economic damage inflicted by infectious diseases stands at over R18bn.

Originally published by RIA Novosti news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1713 1 Feb 08.

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