Russian company Nornickel today acknowledged that one of its ore-enrichment factories discharged waste water in the Arctic, which would have created “an unprecedented outbreak of pollution”, according to local authorities.
In a statement released online on its official website, the Russian mining giant says the incident occurred at the Talnakh ore enrichment plant, located near the arctic village of Norilsk.
The wastewater, used to process minerals extracted from the region, “overflowed from a reservoir on Sunday and was dumped into nature,” the company said.
The waste leak, which was explained as an effect of the thaw caused by rising temperatures, was stopped by factory workers, with no danger of further contamination of the Arctic at this time, Nornickel guarantees.
However, the services of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, cited by the public agency Ria Novosti, guarantee that the leak increased the risk of contamination by toxic substances in the nearby Kharaïakh River.
The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed in a statement that an “unauthorized discharge of liquid waste into the tundra area” occurred near Talnakh and announced the opening of an investigation.
The Russian opposition newspaper Novaïa Gazeta, meanwhile, claimed that the factory unlawfully and intentionally dumped wastewater.
The newspaper published images of Nornickel employees hastily dismantling the pipes used for illegal dumping, at the same time that investigators and emergency services arrived on the scene.
Tatiana Egorova, a spokeswoman for the company, told the French agency AFP that employees had decided to “reject treated water in reservoirs” and that an internal investigation had therefore been opened.
This is the second incident of its kind in less than a month. On May 29, 21,000 tons of fuel stored in the reservoirs of a Nornickel thermal power plant were dumped into the Ambarnaia River and neighboring land.
Russian President Vladimir Putin then declared a state of emergency for the Russian Arctic region, rich in minerals and coal.
The surface cleaning of the spill was completed on June 17, but local authorities believe the harmful effects will be felt for years to come.
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