Energy infrastructure objects of ukraine as a public health threat: criminological analysis

Introduction: There are currently a number of energy infrastructure objects in Ukraine, including nuclear power plants whose failure or destruction due to various factors, including criminogenic ones, can have serious and even irreversible negative consequences not only for the state's national security but also for public health and environment as a whole at local, regional, national and even interstate levels. In the context of the recent criminal violence's escalation that has been observed in Ukraine, such objects can be deliberately harmed, which will inevitably lead to an environmental disaster. Therefore, it is obviously necessary to conduct criminological monitoring of threats for public health related to possible disruptions in operation of critical infrastructure in the energy sector. The aim:of this research is to assess the risks for public health resulting from the critical infrastructure's operation in the energetical field of Ukraine by criminological analysis of certain crime types and propose measures to minimize their negative impact on public health.

Materials and Methods: The study is grounded on dialectical, hictorical, comparative, logical, analytical, synthetic, statistical comprehensive and cartographic research methods. The calculations and mapping were done using Adobe Photoshop CS6, Microsoft Excel 2016, Microsoft Word 2016 and QuickMap 2.2. The sources of the study are the statistical reports of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, analytical materials of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, specialized literature on medicine and law.

Results: The country's energy system, including its nuclear, gas and oil pipelines, belongs to the country's critical infrastructure, since any disruption to their operations or their destruction will inevitably lead to a number of negative consequences, including damage for public health in a large area as a result of environmental pollution. The analysis of criminological statistics shows that the real threat to the functioning of such objects in Ukraine is currently represented by criminal acts, which can lead to disruption of the analyzed objects (terrorism, cases of illegal handling of weapons, ammunition, or explosives, creation of non-statutory paramilitary or armed formations, etc.). At the same time, it has been established and clearly demonstrated by the mapping method that there is an increased level of violence and auto-aggression (suicide) in the areas of nuclear energy facilities deployment. This fact does not exclude the negative impact of energy infrastructure functioning on public health.

Conclusion: By the time that critical energy infrastructure facilities operate fully and in a normal mode, it is extremely dangerous to conduct any large-scale military operations in Ukraine. Even a minor disturbance in the normal operation of such facilities is a potential danger for public health over a large area. The danger of such objects being violated is also emphasized by the fact that under normal rating their impact on public health is evident, which is confirmed by statistics, in particular, on suicides among local community, level of pre-meditated murders on the territories of relevant regions, etc. In addition, such objects are a potential target for acts of terrorism, the results of which can also be catastrophic. In this regard, the development of measures' system of minimizing the negative impact on mental and physical health of people living in the territory of critical infrastructure's location is particularly relevant.