Almost three hundred balloons went up the Kyiv’s sky on Oct. 6 night, from downtown city as a part of a charity evening The Night of Wishes held by Color Agency in a partnership with Zaporuka charity fund. The event aimed to collect money for treatment of a Ukrainian boy, David Benidze, who is sick with cancer. The participants were supposed to buy a balloon for Hr 25 each and then let them into the sky, while the money from balloons would be used for the boy’s treatment. However activists say the event achieved a different goal – environmental pollution.
According to Ukrainian street art artist and ecology
activist known under the nickname Jerzy Konopie, each of almost 300 balloons
released into the sky on Saturday evening had a light-emitting diode supported
by two batteries. “When finally each of these batteries reaches the ground the
decay will start. As a result of this process heavy metals and other hazardous
and carcinogenic substances will get into the ground and into water,” the
artist’s statement on Facebook reads. “Each battery will soon pollute 400
liters or 20 square meters of soil.”
The director of Kyiv ecology and cultural center
Volodymyr Boreiko confirmed the danger from throwing the batteries into the
nature, but noted that “we can’t define the intensity of pollution from each
battery before the official expertise is held,” he said and added that “less
than 300 batteries might not be a that big deal, but this is at least a
littering crime and the offenders should be at least fined.”
Leonard Grygoriev of Color Agency, the event
organizer, said that all the necessary permissions were obtained to the event
that, according to its Facebook page, ended up raising Hr 1,763 ($220).
“Earlier we
wanted to put in sky Chinese lights, but didn’t get permission because those
lights are flammable, so I suppose we wouldn’t get permission if those balloons
were of any danger as well,” he said.
During the event 286 balloons were put up into the
sky. However pictures don’t show them being lit up from inside. The
contractor company Fonariki.kiev.ua, which sold the balloons to the event
confirmed that there were light-emitting diode and batteries inside, but they failed
working because of the cold weather. Yet, Konopie, who came to the event with
his friends and said he bought three balloons, shot a video showing batteries
inside and plans to send them to experts.
Grygoriev also said he would apologize if the official
expertise confirms that the balloons used during the event are dangerous for
environment.
Kyiv Post staff writer Daryna
Shevchenko can be reached at [email protected].
