A photo taken by the Russian Navy of diesel pollution in the Arctic. – Handout / Marine Rescue Service / AFP
Pollution continues to expand in
Russia, after
a massive diesel leak in the Arctic Russian last week. This time, a large freshwater lake was affected, contaminated by the river that feeds it, authorities said on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after authorities believed last week have successfully stopped the spread with floating dams. On Monday evening, they finally admitted that the pollutants had not yet been contained. “The fuel also entered Lake Piassino. It is a beautiful lake about 70 kilometers long containing fish and a beautiful biosphere, “said Krasnoyarsk region governor Alexander Ouss, quoted by Interfax news agency.
A blur on the official figures
It is now “important to prevent (pollution) from reaching the Piassina River further north,” he added, saying it is “possible”. The stream flows into the Arctic Kara Sea. On May 29, 21,000 tonnes of fuel from the tank of a thermal power plant owned by a subsidiary of the major Russian mining group Norilsk Nickel spilled into the Ambarnaya River and surrounding land after the pillars supporting the building broke.
Tuesday the director of Greenpeace in Russia, Vladimir Chouprov, told AFP that his teams had not yet been able to access the site due to containment measures against the coronavirus. “If 10,000 tonnes or more (of fuel) reaches the lake, it’s a disaster. Until now, we have not been given the figures, “regrets the official, alerting him to the” harmful consequences “if this pollution then reaches the Kara Sea.
Verifications of all constructions
The accident is considered by environmental organizations and the authorities to be the worst oil accident in the fragile region of the Russian Arctic. The boss and majority shareholder of Norilsk Nickel, the billionaire Vladimir Potanine, promised last week that his group would bear the entire cost of the depollution operations, which he estimated at 10 billion rubles (128 million euros).
Russia has also ordered a full audit of the risky infrastructure built on the permafrost. Thawing permafrost (or permafrost), a consequence of global warming, is a possible cause of this disaster.
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