MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2020) Ecosystem near the city of Norislk in northern Russia may take 18 years to recover after a diesel spill at a power station, the head of the fisheries watchdog, Ilya Shestakov, said Friday.
On May 29, some 21,000 tonnes of diesel leaked out of a fuel tank at the Norilsk-Taimyr Energy Company's Thermal Power Plant No. 3 and seeped into a nearby river. According to Nornickel, which owns the power plant where the accident took place, the spill was caused by melting permafrost, which destabilized the supports of the fuel tank.
"Our scientists carried out a systemic examination, Lake Pyasino was studied. The results we have indicate that recovery will take 18 years," Shestakov said told reporters.
The watchdog found fish containing oil products, Shestakov said.
"This fish may be considered dead because it cannot be consumed, cannot be eaten. There may even be some mutations in the future," Shestakov added.
The watchdog estimates the damage to the water ecosystem of the area at 3.5 billion rubles ($45 million).
The Russian environment watchdog Rsoprirodnadzor has estimated the entire damage at 147 billion rubles. Nornickel is arguing that the fine has been set too high. The company reported that it had taken care of the clean up.
