MANDATORY CREDIT. Others have suggested a harmful algal bloom, a natural phenomenon that can be triggered and exacerbated by manmade pollution. Russia’s per-capita pollution emissions hit 155 kilograms in 2019 due to transportation and industrial activity, according to an analysis cited by the RBC news website Wednesday. “Yes, there are live crustaceans. No suspects have been named. The Russian natural resource watchog’s affiliate in the Primorye region, where Nakhodka is the second-largest city, collected water samples to determine the source of the spill. Russia launches criminal investigation as researchers’ findings appear to confirm fears of ‘environmental disaster’, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? ‘Ecological catastrophe’ in Russia after marine animals found dead, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. The pollution was first reported by local surfers, who suffered eyesight problems and apparent chemical burns after entering the water last month. Please consider making a donation to The Moscow Times to help us continue covering this historic time in the world’s largest country. On dives in other areas nearby, researchers saw unusual brown foam in the water and “massive remains” of dead seabed creatures, which they warned indicated the contaminated area was much wider than the water they surveyed. Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure isn’t ready for rising temperatures and melting ice. Some large fish, shrimps and craps had survived “but in very small quantities,” he added. Russia’s environment minister, Dmitry Kobylkin, had earlier downplayed reports of injuries and illness suffered by surfers at the area’s Khalaktyrsky beach. However, when diving, we found that at depths from 10 to 15 meters there is a massive death of benthos [seabed-dwelling organisms] — 95 per cent are dead,” said Ivan Usatov, a researcher at the Kronotsky Nature Reserve and Pacific Institute of Geography. Russia’s most polluted regions are those whose economies are dominated by major oil and gas and mining companies. But they have a protective shell that other bottom dwellers do not have. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate?

It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. In total, the two sources of emissions released 22.7 million tons of pollutants into the atmosphere last year, RBC cited the Finexpertiza consulting firm as saying. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Transportation including personal vehicles accounts for one-quarter of Russia’s total emissions while industry accounts for three-quarters of emissions, according to the analysis. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Russia’s Investigative Committee on Wednesday bowed to pressure and launched a criminal investigation to establish the source of the unexplained pollution, after the Kremlin initially downplayed the disaster and denied any manmade cause.

Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. Russia’s Investigative Committee, a federal law enforcement agency similar to the FBI, said dead marine life had washed up on the Kamchatka’s shore from 1 September to 3 October and the  seawater had been found to contain oil components including phenol. He added he had suffered apparent burns during the dive. Russia’s per-capita pollution emissions hit 155 kilograms in 2019 due to transportation and industrial activity, according to an analysis cited by the RBC news website Wednesday.. NO ARCHIVES. The spill is at least the third oil spill to hit Russia's waterways this month. Locals report hundreds of dead marine animals washed up on the beach and oil levels found to be four times the permissible amount. Recent studies of water and soil have shown that the oil pollution level at the Arctic Ambarnaya River, located near the thermal power plant in Norilsk where a massive fuel spill occurred in late May, have not exceed the maximum permissible values, said local authorities in russian Krasnoyarsk region. Our exclusives and on-the-ground reporting are being read and shared by many high-profile journalists. We wouldn’t be able to produce this crucial journalism without the support of our loyal readers. Oil Spill Hits Russia’s Pacific Coast Amid String of Pollution Incidents Oct. 22, 2020 The spill is at least the third oil spill to hit Russia's waterways this month.

An oil and debris collection vessel has begun cleaning the water surface, it added.

Radiation levels of 120 microroentgen per hour were reportedly recorded near the shipping containers. “For us, there is no scale of disaster. Please consider making a donation to The Moscow Times to help us continue covering this historic time in the world’s largest country.

“On the shore, we also did not find any large dead sea animals or birds. The Krasnoyarsk region, Russia’s most polluted subject according to Finexpertiza, houses the Nornickel mining giant and the Rusal aluminum producer. The air is somewhat cleaner than it was in the Soviet era because so many factories have closed down.

“We’ve encountered a new large-scale phenomenon that science has yet to comprehend,” the region's governor said. The Nakhodka Ship Repair Yard told the newsnhk.com website that they first noticed a film of oil covering the nearby bay earlier Wednesday. We wouldn’t be able to produce this crucial journalism without the support of our loyal readers. Earlier in October, a ruptured transport barge caused 500 liters of diesel fuel to spill into the Angara River in Siberia and another vessel spilled a layer of fuel the size of a hockey rink into the Volga River north of Moscow.

Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Aerial photographs showed a rainbow-colored area consistent with an oil spill on the water's surface near the shipyard in the Far East city of Nakhodka. An oil slick has appeared in a bay near a ship repair plant on Russia’s Pacific coast, local media reported Thursday, marking at least the third oil spill to hit Russia this month.

But on Wednesday, Mr Kobylkin changed tone and vowed that those responsible for the pollution would be punished. “The distribution of emissions fairly accurately represents the concentration of the largest producers of non-ferrous metals, petrochemical products and thermal power generation,” said Maxim Khudalov, the head of sustainable development risk assessment at Russia’s ACRA credit agency. Broken down by regions, Russia’s most polluted federal subjects are those whose economies are dominated by major oil and gas and mining companies. No one has died, no one was hurt," he said on Monday after environmental groups Greenpeace and the WWF raised the alarm about an “ecological catastrophe”. The next two most-polluted regions, the Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district and the Kemerovo region, are major oil and coal production areas. Whatever the cause, the response to the disaster shows public outrage can force the Russian authorities’ hand when it comes to ecological questions. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. But these too may die as their food supply has been destroyed, scientists said. However many factories are obsolete, producing more pollution than factories of the same size in the West. "Citizens' environmental wellbeing and the preservation of ecosystems come first.". The Moscow Times’ team of journalists has been first with the big stories on the coronavirus crisis in Russia since day one. Divers who inspected the waters off a 25-mile stretch of Kamchatka peninsula reported that 95 per cent of creatures on the ocean floor were dead; findings they said confirmed fears of an “environmental disaster” with a potentially devastating long-term impact. Toxic spill in Russia's far east 'kills 95% of seabed life', Mystery toxic spill on Russian coast ‘has killed 95% of seabed life'. "There cannot be any compromises here, as with the situation in Norilsk," he said, referring to a major oil spill in the Russian Arctic in May. Mystery toxic pollution on Russian east coast has killed 95% of seabed life, scientists say. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium.

Marine biologists who examined the pollution site told the governor in a meeting on Tuesday they found “massive death” at the bottom of Avacha Bay. The sale could be a turning point for Russia’s utilities sector as companies respond to environmental concerns of the government and investors.