Residents of village in southern Russia demand relocation from polluted area
[Presenter] The International Day of Water is marked on 22 March. Almost every third Russian is drinking water the
quality of which does not meet sanitary norms. Over 55 cubic km of sewage was discharged into Russian rivers in 2003.
The biggest polluter is the oil industry.
Residents of Prorvinskiy village in Krasnodar Territory know it from experience. They have been waiting for help
since February, when a gas well burst near the village. The Gazprom company promised to clear the area of oil products
and pay decent compensation to local people within two weeks.
[Unidentified woman, speaking to camera] Look at my kitchen garden. All the sprouts are dry.
[Correspondent Anastasiya Litvinova] Nina Shcherban's kitchen garden has been covered with saw dust. Emergency
workers said it would absorb the spilled oil in a week. A month has passed, but oil can still be found under saw dust,
and nothing is growing there. Nina Ivanovna is crying, as the kitchen garden fed the whole family.
A gas outbreak happened at a nearby gas well on 17 February. The whole village was covered by an oily deposit of an
unknown nature. Saw dust and sand were scattered around. Houses have been washed, but nobody can do the same with
kitchen gardens.
[An unidentified old man, speaking to camera] It looks like oil.
[Correspondent, off camera] How does it smell?
[Old man] The devil only knows! Yes, it smells like fuel oil.
[Correspondent] Gazprom officials say that nothing terrible has happened, because it is only light oil.
[Anatoliy Tsukanov, captioned as senior engineer of the Kubanburgaz company, speaking to camera] Transport would
pollute the territory worse than these [oil] products. They can sow plants.
[Unidentified woman, speaking to camera] What do they mean by "nothing terrible"? Many of us have high
blood pressure. Those who have heart problems now feel worse than ever. I had joints ache occasionally. Now I cannot
lift my nine-month baby!
[Correspondent] As much as R1,000 [about 35 dollars] has been paid to every person by Gazprom and R2,000 - by the
Krasnodar Territory administration. The damaged well has been closed, but there are 10 similar ones around the
village.
[Unidentified woman, speaking to camera] Of course, we are afraid. Something could explode at any moment.
[Another woman] We do not know whether it is safe to live and grow vegetables here. Nobody has called a meeting and
spoken to us.
[Correspondent] Locals say that environmental experts visited the village right after the accident to take samples of
water and soil for analysis. The residents asked the public health authority for the results, but the officials said
that the results were still not available. Meanwhile, the victims of the incident cannot bring the case to court without
an official document. People are awaiting the trial with impatience. They do not claim damage compensation. Instead,
they hope to be relocated away from the unsafe wells.
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
