Norilsk Nickel hides the scale of the environmental disaster in the Arctic
27.06.2020Moscow city Duma Deputy Sergei Mitrokhin was not allowed to take water and soil samples from Norilsk for analysis. Samples were taken by a Greenpeace representative in the Novaya Gazeta journalists presence in lake Pyasino and the Pyasina river, which flows into the Kara sea. According to the company Norilsk Nickel representatives, whose daughter company Heat and Power Station-3 burst tank, polluting the fragile Arctic nature of 21 thousand tons of diesel, the pollution was stopped before lake Pyasino.
According to the airport employees in Norilsk, they received an anonymous call that the flight that Mitrokhin was going to fly on would attempt to transport fuel and lubricants. Thus, the NorNickel company representatives (and according to the airport employees, they are also NorNickel) confirmed that the samples contain a diesel fuel large amount. In principle, analyses are unnecessary. Greenpeace representative took the samples that they tried to withdraw and left the airport. Thus, journalists and a Greenpeace representative were held hostage by NorNickel, which was hiding the extent of Arctic pollution after the accident on May 29 at Heat and Power Station-3.
[…] But I know that it is not true: in the Norilsk Nickel presentation, it is written that they cooperate with environmentalists various groups, but it is worth remembering that journalists and a Greenpeace representative were not able to take water and soil samples from Norilsk. Moscow city Duma Deputy Sergei Mitrokhin was detained with samples at the Norilsk airport. […]
[…] The fact that Norilsk Nickel disputes the damage amount caused by the 21 ton diesel fuel spill near Norilsk, and it is estimated by Rosprirodnadzor at almost 148 billion rubles (US 2 mln) is normal and legal. It is a good thing that NorNickel is repairing the damage as much as possible. The bad thing is that by declaring their readiness to compensate for the damage and eliminate the accident at the CHPP-3 consequences, Norilsk Nickel enterprises continue to kill the Taimyr ecology, draining waste from the tailings dump directly into the tundra (the Russia Investigative Committee opened a criminal case after dumping waste into the tundra in Norilsk) and preventing journalists from taking out water and soil samples for analysis. […]