MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2020) Rostechnadzor, a Russian watchdog responsible for the environment and technology, has asked Norilsk Nickel to take action to ensure industrial safety, following a recent massive fuel leak in the north of Russia, and to submit a plan of action within one week.
The state of Nornickel's facilities is alarming, and ignoring this could lead to regrettable consequences, the watchdog said in its press release, issued after the senior officials of Rostechnadzor met with Nornickel.
"It was stressed that a whole range of serious problems exists and requires comprehensive solutions on part of the management of the facilities, while ignoring them, according to the rapporteurs, would lead to even more regrettable consequences than the incident at the Thermal Power Station Three [where the leak happened]," the press release said.
The incident happened at the Norilsk-Taimyr Energy Company, which, according to Rostechnadzor, submitted wrong information about its impact on the environment.
On May 29, a fuel tank at the power station was damaged because its foundation sank suddenly. As a result, about 21,000 tonnes of the fuel leaked. Nornickel believes that the main reason for the incident was sudden thawing of the permafrost which destabilized the tank's foundation. A federal-level state of emergency was imposed on the region and a criminal case was launched. According to the emergency services, the spill was contained, but Nornickel is still working on the clean-up.
