20,000 Tons Of Oild Spilled Turned The Arctic Circle Blood Red

Currently, Russia has the third-most COVID-19 cases in the world, just after the US and Brazil. As if that were not enough, the country now has to deal with another disaster: 20,000 tons of diesel oil were spilled into the Ambarnaya river, outside Norilsk, Russia, in the Arctic Circle.

The oil spill happened on May 29 because a power plant near Norilsk collapsed. Norilsk Nickel, the owner of the power plant, is the largest palladium producer in the world. It also manufactures massive amounts of copper, platinum, and nickel.

Reports said that the oil spill has contaminated 350 square kilometers with the oil drifting at least 12 kilometers from the power plant. It has turned the river blood red, according to BBC.

On June 4, Siberian Times updated shared a satellite view of the Ambarnaya river following the oil spill in late May, which indicates a very long part of the river is completely red.

Sadly, this isn’t the first time there’s been an oil spill at this power plant. Back in 2016, Norilsk Nickel was fined about Rs 75,500 for an oil spill.

The collapse of Norilsk Nickel’s plant was attributed to the melting of permafrost due to climate change, which damaged the storage tank containing the diesel.

On May 22, 2020, the temperature at parts of the Arctic Circle even reached 30.1 degrees C. Such heatwaves have resulted in destablishing permafrost on which infrastructures and building rest, as well as massive emissions of greenhouse gases.

Norilsk Nickel tried to contain the oil spill on its own, hence failed to report immediately to authorities. Yevgeny Zinichev, the Minister for Emergencies of Russia, said that caused the government to respond two days late. Meanwhile, region governor Alexander Uss said he came to light about the oil spill through social media.

On June 3, five days from the incident, Russia President Vladimir Putin ordered a state of emergency, activating federal support for cleaning up the mess. The country is also investigating the incident.

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