The first samples of water, soil and hydrobionts taken from contaminated areas of Russia's far eastern Kamchatka region were delivered to Vladivostok-based Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), its spokesman told Sputnik, adding that the first results will likely be ready next week
VLADIVOSTOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2020) The first samples of water, soil and hydrobionts taken from contaminated areas of Russia's far eastern Kamchatka region were delivered to Vladivostok-based Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU), its spokesman told Sputnik, adding that the first results will likely be ready next week.
"Scientists of the Far Eastern Federal University today received samples of water, soil and hydrobionts taken from contaminated areas of Kamchatka. The analysis will be carried out by the FEFU eco-biotechnology laboratory," the spokesman said.
The results will likely be ready next week, he added.
Local authorities have already started to create an environmental monitoring system in the region following the pollution of coastal waters, Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov told Sputnik earlier on Thursday.
In late September, surfers observed a change in the color of the water at the Khalaktyrsky beach in Kamchatka's Avacha Bay and complained that it was causing a skin rash and swollen eyes. According to the territory's Environmental Ministry, dead sea animals littered the beach and were also found at the Malaya and Bolshaya Lagernaya Bays and the Babya Bay. The ministry has also registered an increased levels of petroleum products and phenol.
Later, the head of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Dmitry Kobylkin, said that no chemical agents had been detected but did confirm a slight increase in phosphates and iron.
The Russian Investigative Committee has already launched a criminal case while investigations are ongoing. However, the cause of the incident still unknown. The authorities are looking into three possible reasons for the pollution: man-made pollution, natural phenomena and seismic activity. Meanwhile, the environmental situation on the Kamchatka coast is gradually improving, according to local authorities.
