Another Awful Arctic Accident By Russian Metals Giant Norilsk Nickel
More than 40 tons of aviation fuel spilled into a lake near the Arctic settlement of Tukhard in Russia's Krasnoyarsk Territory on July 12. Norilsk Nickel said the spill happened when a pipeline depressurized for about 15 minutes while pumping aviation fuel.
A damaged pipeline on July 13 near the site of the aviation fuel spill near the settlement of Tukhard.
A containment boom at the site of the spill on July 13
This photo released by Greenpeace on June 28 shows an excavator disassembling a pipe from a Norilsk Nickel enrichment plant that was draining water into a river. The company said that it improperly pumped wastewater into the Arctic tundra and that it has suspended the employees responsible for the error.
In May, some 21,000 tons of diesel fuel was spilled from a Norilsk Nickel-operated power plant in Norilsk. Environmentalists said it was the largest fuel spill to ever occur in the Arctic.
A handout photo from the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry shows workers on June 18 preparing reservoirs for soil contaminated with fuel from the oil spill.
Employees of Russia's state-owned oil pipeline monopoly Transneft take part in a cleanup operation following May's massive fuel spill in the Ambarnaya River outside Norilsk.
A floating dam is installed to limit the spread of pollution in the Ambarnaya River outside Norilsk after the oil spill in May. The accident happened when a fuel reservoir collapsed at a power plant operated by a subsidiary of metals giant Norilsk Nickel.
On June 10, Russian investigators detained three staff members from the power plant.
Workers fill a collection tank with a mixture of oil and water skimmed from the surface of the contaminated Ambarnaya River.
A dead fish washes up on the banks of the Ambarnaya River outside Norilsk following the May fuel spill. Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, is controlled by Russia's richest man, Vladimir Potanin, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $23.5 billion.
Vyacheslav Starostin was in charge of the power plant when 21,000 tons of fuel spilled into the Arctic habitat in May. A regional court charged him with negligence and violating environmental regulations and ordered Starostin be placed in pretrial detention until July 31.
Russia's state environmental watchdog said metals producer Norilsk Nickel should foot the estimated $2 billion bill for damages caused by the massive fuel spill at the company’s operations in the Arctic.
Portable containers holding contaminated water
A helicopter view of the spill on June 2
Additional workers from Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry were flown in to help deal with the aftermath of the May spill. Greenpeace described the spill as the "first accident of such a scale in the Arctic."
A floating dam was installed on June 2 to limit the spread of pollution following May's massive fuel spill.
A satellite image released by the World Wildlife Fund shows the extent of the crimson spill in the waterways near Norilsk.
The plant owners said that the incident was caused by the collapse of foundation pillars which were supporting a storage tank built on permafrost. The company said climate change had led to the melting of the permafrost, which triggered the collapse.
A photo issued by the environmental watchdog Greenpeace Russia showed how local rivers were colored red by the massive fuel leak.