Russia: Arctic fuel "red tide" progression has been "halted"

"The progression of hydrocarbons has been stopped. They are no longer going anywhere" thanks to the deployment of a floating containment dam, a representative of the Russian ministry for emergency situations in the Krasnoiarsk region told AFP on Friday June 5, adding that pumping of fuel had started.

Escaped from a thermal power plant, 20,000 tonnes of oil spilled into a river in the Russian Arctic last week.

"Efforts are being made to eliminate pollution," said the ministry. However, the latter was not able to say whether the progression of fuel was stopped on the Ambarnaïa river or on Lake Piassino, which would be much more serious because its waters flow in the river of the same name, very important for the region.

State of emergency declared in Russia after "red tide" of fuel in the Arctic

Rescue, on the job to try to limit the damage

One of the diesel tanks of a thermal power plant belonging to a subsidiary of the mining giant Norilsk Nickel collapsed last week, causing a leak of 20,000 tonnes of oil.

According to ecological organizations, this pollution is considered to be the worst ecological accident due to hydrocarbons in the region. Since then, rescue workers have been hard at work trying to limit the damage, in a context made complicated by the difficulties of access to the site and the shallow depth of the river, which prevents operations by boat.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin stepped up to the plate on Wednesday, declaring a state of emergency and publicly beating local officials, including the president of the Norilsk Nickel subsidiary, who has been slow to react. The company denied any failure.

An accident that could be attributed to climate change

Friday, the Minister of Emergency Situations went to the site to monitor the progress of relief operations. In a statement, he said "200 tonnes of fuel and lubricants have been collected" so far.

According to Norilsk Nickel, the tank was damaged when the pillars embedded in the permafrost that had been supporting it "for 30 years" started to sink, an accident that could be attributed to the melting of the permafrost due to climate change.

One of the world's leading producers of nickel and palladium, Norilsk Nickel is not in its first ecological accident. Already in 2016, one of its factories had accidentally spilled chemicals in a river in the far North, already tinged it with red.

With AFP

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