The first convoy of military specialists from the Russian Defense Ministry has completed the most difficult phase of work to ensure chemical safety at the defunct Usolyekhimprom chemical plant in the town of Usolye-Sibirskoye in Russia's Irkutsk region, the press service of Russia's Central Military District said on Wednesday
NOVOSIBIRSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2020) The first convoy of military specialists from the Russian Defense Ministry has completed the most difficult phase of work to ensure chemical safety at the defunct Usolyekhimprom chemical plant in the town of Usolye-Sibirskoye in Russia's Irkutsk region, the press service of Russia's Central Military District said on Wednesday.
The ministry sent military specialists from the radiation, chemical and biological protection unit, as well as special equipment to Usolye-Sibirskoye in early August to eliminate the environmental damage after the termination of chemical production in the town.
"The first convoy of the Defense Ministry's military unit, which arrived in Usolye-Sibirskoye in the Irkutsk region to take measures to eliminate the threat of environmental pollution on the territory of Usolyekhimprom, returned to permanent duty stations after completing the most difficult phase of the work," the press service said.
The rest of the military specialists continues to ensure the chemical safety of work on pumping hazardous chemicals from wells located outside the territory of the plant, as well as conducts chemical monitoring of the air in the area of the working site and in the town, the district added.
The industrial site in Usolye-Sibirskoye was previously used for the production of chemical products by the Usoliekhimprom enterprise, which ceased production activities back in 2010. Following the termination of production, a significant amount of waste was placed in underground tanks, as a result of which soil and underground waters were saturated with hazardous chemicals.
Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Defense Ministry was ready to engage in an effort to eliminate environmental pollution in Usolye-Sibirskoye. In addition, the president instructed the government to develop a road map to eliminate environmental damage within three months.
