19 September 2003 10:01
Chemical leak in Far Eastern Russia now cleared up
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, 19 September: The recycling of chemicals from a container belonging to the DuPont company,
which leaked into the sea off Bering Island at the end of July, has been completed, the ITAR-TASS correspondent learnt
at the Natural Resources Ministry's directorate for natural resources and environment protection for Kamchatka
Region and the Koryak Autonomous Area.
About 3.8 cu. m. of tetraethylene glycol have been burnt in a special furnace under the eye of inspectors from the
directorate. All measures to ensure environmental security were observed during the operation, experts have said..
The container was lost by a French transport vessel in the area of the Aleutian Islands on 31 March of this year. In
July the 20-tonne tank was washed onto Bering Island by a storm into waters. About 16 tonnes of toxic substances leaked
from the damaged container, resulting in the deaths of several dozen birds and a seal.
The DuPont company has undertaken to pay for removing the container from the island, recyling the remaining chemicals
and monitoring the environment of the area where the leak occurred. Representatives of the DuPont company have blamed
the firm that was transporting the tank for the incident.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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