Oil Pollution At Ambarnaya River Mouth Near Norilsk Not Above Limit - Local Authorities

KRASNOYARSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) Recent studies of water and soil have shown that the oil pollution level at the mouth of the Ambarnaya River, located near the thermal power plant in Norilsk, where a massive fuel spill occurred in late May, is not exceeding the threshold limit value (TLV), local authorities in the Krasnoyarsk region said on Thursday.

"More than 600 water and soil samples were studied. According to the latest data, oil pollution at the mouth of the Ambarnaya River does not exceed TLV," Yuri Lapshin, the head of the Krasnoyarsk regional government, said during a session in the local parliament.

Lapshin added that works to limit the impact of the fuel spill and studies of the pollution level were still ongoing.

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 the nearby river. According to Nornickel, which owns the power plant where the accident took place, the spill was caused by melting permafrost, which set the supports of the fuel tank in motion. The emergency services have announced having localized the spill. Russia's Rosprirodnadzor environmental watchdog has estimated the incurred damage at approximately $2 billion, for the water and soil pollution.