Ecological concerns arise over the effects of hydrazine
Russia’s Rokot program sent a satellite into orbit on the morning of Sat, June 4. However, one stage of the rocket has come plummeting back down to Earth. The rocket is expected to land in northern Baffin Bay, between Baffin Island and Greenland.
The rocket is said to harbour the dangerous chemical hydrazine as its fuel source. Hydrazine is a toxic chemical; technicians need to wear pressurized hazmat suits when handling the substance. Russian and Canadian officials have stated that most of the chemicals should burn off before the rocket crashes into the Arctic waters.
According to the Globe and Mail, Canadian officials said they were not given enough warning by Russia before the launch, and it is still uncertain as to who will have to clean up the mess and pick up the bill.
“We have stressed to the Government of Russia the need for greater advance warning of planned launches to ensure that all precautions, relating both to the safety and security of our airspace and any potential environmental concerns, can be appropriately addressed,” Austin Jean, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said in an email on Wed, June 1.
The Russian embassy’s press secretary, Kirill Kalinin stated in an email, “The Canadian side was informed it would be done in a way that no territory of Canada or its territorial waters would be affected while the fuel of disposed rocket stages fully burns out.”
University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers told the Globe and Mail, “The junked Russian rocket, which commonly uses hydrazine, may carry hundreds of litres of unused fuel.”
“Space debris comes all the time. If it was just a chunk of metal it wouldn’t be a problem,” said Byers. “The twist here is this is a hydrazine-fuelled rocket and this is really toxic stuff.”
Hydrazine has been used as a propellant since the Second World War and has since been commonly used for launching satellites, varieties of launch vehicles, as well as on the International Space Station. Many countries have abandoned the use of hydrazine as a source of fuel because of the negative impact it has on the environment.
Hydrazine has been used in pesticides, chemical blowing agents, pharmaceutical intermediates, textile dyes, and photography chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised their hazard summary of hydrazine in their Integrated Risk Information system in 2000. Many categories stated that information is not available for the effects of hydrazine or that there is not enough adequate information. However, the hazard summary has stated that hydrazine rapidly degrades in the environment and is rarely encountered.
The 2005 material safety data sheet for hydrazine stated that the ecological concerns of the chemical are warranted: “Due to the extreme corrosive potential of this chemical and its reactivity with moisture and oxidants, hydrazine in the environment is of great concern. While the ecotoxicity is not known, the products of biodegradation of hydrazine are more toxic than the parent compound. Potentially hazardous short- and long-term degradation products are to be expected.”