MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2021) Russian Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor) checked 184 companies in the Arctic, suspended the activities of 11 of them, but did not identify risks of a repetition of an accident similar to the Norilsk diesel fuel spill, the agency's head Alexey Aleshin said.
"Rostekhnadzor conducted unscheduled field inspections in respect of 184 legal entities operating 426 hazardous production facilities for storage and transportation of oil and oil products located in the Arctic zone of Russia," he said at a briefing.
Via court proceedings, Rostekhnadzor suspended the activities of 11 companies for a period of 90 days in connection with violations during operations, Aleshin said.
He noted that in the entire history of observations globally, there have been no accidents when the bottom of the reservoir breaks off, as happened in the accident in Norislk. And according to the results of the audit, the department came to the conclusion that the likelihood of a repetition of such an accident is extremely small. The owners of the hazardous production facilities began to correct the violations, and some of them, on their own initiative, decommissioned the reservoirs, which, in their opinion, could carry risks.
"Therefore, answering your question, can there be such an accident in principle � they are not foreseen. I hope that, moreover, after our checks, we have drawn the attention of operating organizations to the operating facilities. I think that the likelihood of such an accident with such consequences is not yet visible," Aleshin concluded.
Rostekhnadzor carried out an audit of hazardous production facilities in the Arctic on behalf of the Russian government. The department checked 3,874 tanks, of which 78 percent, or 3,013 tanks, are in good condition, 10 percent (383) are in good condition, but with certain limitations, and 12 percent (478) are faulty. Some of these 478 have been withdrawn from their operation after verification, some are being repaired by the owners, and some undergoing additional technical checks.
