Russia's Norilsk Nickel Involved in New Arctic Fuel Spill
13 Julho 2020 - 11:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Ann M. Simmons
MOSCOW -- Authorities in Russia's Arctic region declared a local
state of emergency following the leak of aviation fuel into nearby
reservoirs just weeks after a catastrophic diesel spill in the same
region.
Officials in the Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets district of the remote
Krasnoyarsk region said Monday almost 45 tons of jet fuel leaked
into the ground from a pipeline owned and operated by mining giant
Norilsk Nickel, or Nornickel. The same company spilled 20,000 tons
of diesel from a holding tank at one of its other installations in
May.
Nornickel said in a statment that the accident occurred on
Sunday after a pipeline pumping aviation fuel depressurized. It
said the pipeline belonged to its subsidiary Norilsktransgaz and
led to the fuel being discharged for about 15 minutes.
Local authorities said in a statement that the fuel was being
pumped to a fuel and lubricants warehouse when the spill
occurred.
Officials at Nornickel didn't immediately respond to a request
for further information about circumstances surrounding the
spill.
In a statement the company said it immediately notified
emergency services and there were "no threats to life and health of
people in the territory." It said an internal investigation into
the cause of the spill was under way and all work involving the
transfer of fuel had been suspended.
All possible measures to expedite the collection of the spilled
fuel were being taken, the company said.
Local authorities said the fuel had seeped into a nearby lake
and a stream but had been localized and was being contained by boom
barriers and sorbents.
Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case
focused on the possible violation of environmental safety
regulations.
The incident comes weeks after the Russian government ordered
Nornickel to pay $2 billion in damages for the cleanup of a 20,000
ton spill from an Arctic plant run by another of its subsidiaries
in the remote town in Norilsk.
The company is disputing the $2 billion fine and blamed the May
29 incident on the sudden failure of posts that supported the
basement of a fuel storage after permafrost had begun to thaw. It
promised to pay for the cleanup and work with state, federal and
independent entities to completely restore the ecosystem.
The spill contaminated a swath of land and several ecologically
important bodies of water. The Russian branch of Greenpeace called
it the worst spill the Arctic has seen.
The catastrophe prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to
declare a national state of emergency in the Krasnoyarsk region
where Norilsk is located after learning of the spill in early
June.
"We are worried that these accidents have begun to occur too
often," said Vladimir Chuprov, project director at the Russian
branch of Greenpeace.
Write to Ann M. Simmons at ann.simmons@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 13, 2020 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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