Finland's cleanup campaign Improved quality of life, as well as resource conservation, are both motives and goals of that country's stepped-up environmental programs
are spread over many parts of the That the International Bank for Ren,.lminnm-n+ I\..",," I N ~ ~ I A rnlln+nr '".\I.Iw",LI.I, "VY.',',. nrrtirl,i.rilr in +ha i ~ , ..-.J .-,, Bank, Washington, D.C.) would grant a Thus, environmental pollution caused by 15-yr loan of $20 million is not, of itself, urbanization and industrialization has been reflected principally in water pollubig news. What is news is that this loan tion. is being floated in support of a water Jaatinen points out that the Finns pollution control (wpc) program in Finland, and is the first pollution control "highly appreciate their lakes," and ex. loan ever granted by the World Bank. Proceeds from the loan will help to finance about 65% of the foreign exchange costs of wpc expenses to be incurred by Finnish industry between this year and 1977. The Mortgage Bank of Finland Oy (Helsinki) is the official borrower, and it, together with the National Board of Waters (NBW, Helsinki, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) would appraise and supervise sub-loans to 20-30 industrial companies. These industrial sub-borrowers must meet specific targets, set by the authorities, for reducing the amount of effluent they discharge.
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Land of Lakes About 10% of Finland is covered by inland waters that consist mainly of "watercourses": that is, lakes joined together by narrow channels, short streams, and canals. There are more than 55,000 lakes, of which only two are over 100 miles'deep. Average lake depth is about seven miles; such reiatively shaiiow waters can often contain pollution-developing humus. Moreover, during the country's long, cold winters, ice cover reduces the ability of watercourses to receive wastewaters. Simo Jaatinen. president of the NBW, which is in charge of Finland's fresh and coastal waters and wastewater, notes that his country's water consumption and wastewater production per capita are among the highest in the world. The reason is that Finland has large forest products and pulp and paper industries that use much water. These industries 710
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tion. Therefore, "water protection is generally regarded as No. 1 priority in the field of environmental pollution control," Jaatinen said. Water cleanup lunding On the municipal front, Finnish authorities. spend the equivalent of $56 millionlyr (based on 1 Fmk = $0.28) on water protection. Jaatinen foresees that at this funding rate over the next five years, 90% of municipal wastewater will be very effectively cleaned. He also predicts that the municipal waste load discharged into waterways in 1980 will be only half of what it was in 1972. indeed, from 1970 to 1974, the equivalent of $98 million was expended on constructing treatment plants. By the end of 1973, over 400 municipal sewage plants served about 60% of the population. Over the 10-yr period 1974-1983, industry faces wpc costs of $503 million. Of this sum. the cost to the wood processing and pulp and paper industry could be $329 million. The source of this capital will be the Mortgage Bank of Finland for 38.5%, the governmentowned Postipankki (which handles the bulk of the Treasury's dealings with the public) for 36.5%. and self-financing, partly from "polluter pays" legal provisions, for 23%. Part of this capital would come from proceeds of the World Bank loan. The wpc total spent by communities and industry is about the equivalent of $112 million. The bulk of this money is spent on investments in machinery and equipment. While most of this hardware is used domestically, a considerable amount-much of it verysophisticatedis exported. Some Finnish companies that manufacture this equipment dis-
cussed their capabilities, along with technical considerations, at an Embassy of Finland/EnvironmentaI Protection Seminar held at Rosslyn, Va., in February. Among topics covered were new processes and equipment, for which $20.16 million are budgeted; “off-theshelf” technology, to cost $42.56 million, and monitoring, for $420,000. Water cleanup actlon In Finland, water use and cleanup are regulated by its Water Act of 1962, which prohibits blocking, changing, or spoiling (including polluting) watercourses without a permit granted by the National Board of Waters. The Act also provides for Water Courts in which those who have been damaged by water pollution may sue for compensation. The NBW is administering a water cleanup program over 1974-1985, with 1980 and 1985 goals that stress BOD,, phosphorus (P), and nitrogen (N). By 1980, care must be taken to prevent discharge of toxic materials to watercourses, and all sewage factors causing water pollution will have to be sharply reduced. For industry other than wood processing, fertilizer, and foodstuffs, in wastewater not run through a municipal sewage system, BOD7 must be 10 tpd or less, and P less than 0.1 tpd. The same must hold true by 1985, and by then, pollution will have to be limited so that it is mostly local, with prevention of operational accidents and disturbances, and provision for fast cleanup in case of an accident. Water monitoring The NBW conducts a monitoring program for discharges and ambient water quality, and has over 6000 sampling stations plus 7500 check points. In keeping with their discharge permits industries, too, must monitor. In some cases, a company may have to report on over 12 parameters. All industries, with two exceptions, use consulting firms approved by the NBW, of which there are about 15, to do their monitoring. These industries report 35,00040,000 water quality readings, total, under existing permits, and can be called upon to report BOD, suspended solids, N, P, toxic materials, temperature, oil, dissolved oxygen, chloride ion, pH, oxidation-reduction potential, conductivity, flow velocity, and turbidity.
Several Finnish firms are doing brisk domestic and international business in monitoring and in water and wastewater treatment equipment and systems, as well as in consulting. Some of these firms were represented at the seminar, at which A. Ahlstrom Osakeyhtio (Noormarkku), the DEVECON Group (Helsinki), Jaakko Poyry & Co. Oy (Helsinki) and Oy Yleinen lnsinooritoimisto (YIT, Helsinki) participated. Air, nolse, solid waste Environmental matters other than those concerning water come under the Ministry of the Interior’s Division for Environmental Protection (DEP), which started its work on March 1, 1973. The head of the DEP is Olli Ojala, who has to deal with problems of air, noise, solid waste, and outdoor reaction. Ojala explained that while water protection has top priority in Finland at present, air pollution control (apc) “is also badly needed.” He also said that in cities and towns, as well as working places, “Noise abatement is given the highest priority by the majority.” Ojala noted that there are no environmental standards (aside from those for water) in Finland. However, certain recommendations on air pollutants and noise have been given by the National Board of Health, according to the Public Health Act of 1965. An Air Protection Act and a Noise Abatement Act are now being drafted by the DEP for consideration by the Finnish Parliament. Nevertheless, Ojala is very concerned about the paucity of environmental standards. The feeling at the DEP seems to be that these standards need to be promulgated, with “teeth,” as soon as possible; that much new legislation is needed fast; and that older laws need a major overhaul and revision. For example, the Forest Protection Act and the Nature Conservation Act date back to 1922 and 1923, respectively; however, for these laws, revision might soon be in the works. There is no law on the books to deal with the management of solid waste. However, a Waste Management Act is being drafted for the Parliament’s consideration. As for other pollutants, laws regarding oil damages, environmental poisons, and biocides are in force. Also in the statutes is the Work Security Act of 1958, which deals with in-plant occupationd safety and health.
Nevertheless, a few private companies are active in the air protection field. One of these companies, Outukumpu Oy (Helsinki), principally in mining and metals, was represented at the Embassy seminar. However, the paper industry, probably Europe’s largest in the business (Sweden is larger in pulp), is also very concerned with apc. Conserving energy While the environmental cleanup effort in Finland is in answer to social needs, more efficient use of energy and materials is a principal underlying factor. One very cogent reason is that Finland has little by way of indigenous fossil fuel resources, and wants to minimize its fuel import bill. The same holds true for a number of raw materials. Nonetheless, the more completely fuel, materials, and heat are used in process, the less waste matter and energy get out to the environment, and the lower the operating costs. In Finland, this truism is being well applied, witness projects to recover and use waste heat from industry and other sources to provide space heating for buildings in certain districts of Helsinki, Finland’s capital. Also, about 25% of industry’s energy comes from recovered waste heat. However, as a rule, the Finns have never seen virtue in waste and prodigality; thus, the national trend to conserve, plus the effort to satisfy health and social needs, point to clean air and a high quality of life. JJ Volume 9,Number 8. August 1975
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