Long-awaited cleanup of rivers from oil spill begins in Kharkiv – environmental activist

Long-awaited cleanup of rivers from oil spill begins in Kharkiv – environmental activist
Katerina Belousova

It was possible to localize the pollution and stop the ingress of oil products into the Siverskyi Donets River

Environmental activist Artem Prykhodko said that Kharkiv has begun effective cleaning of rivers from 3,000 tons of oil products that were released into the environment as a result of the enemy shelling of the oil depot on February 9.
The spread of oil slicks was stopped thanks to the simultaneous use of protective booms and sorbents, he wrote on his Facebook page.
The published photos show that a layer of brown foam has begun to form near the booms.

"Bon barriers together with a sorbent work effectively," he wrote.

facebook.com/prihdkoartem

Prykhodko emphasized that due to the effectiveness of such structures, activists abandoned the experimental stoppage of the spread of oil spills using straw bags.

"Of course, there will still be consequences, no matter what we do, but it is possible to reduce them. A lot of work and effort is still needed. The main thing is that we found a way," said Prykhodko.

As you know, after the enemy attack on the oil depot on February 9, the content of petroleum products in the Nemyshlia River exceeded the norm by 95 times, and in other rivers by 7-8 times.

Prykhodko emphasized that on February 15 it was possible to localize and stop the ingress of oil products into the Siverskyi Donets River thanks to sorbents and boom barriers.

The eco-activist also published a photo of ducks and muskrats that died from oil poisoning.

“[Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources] Ruslan Strelets, this is what the real damage looks like. Who will be responsible for this? – he wrote. – Why didn't the eco-inspectors immediately check the environment in the area of ​​the explosion of the oil depot, why did they wait for publicity about the disaster in social networks?

Earlier, EcoPolitic wote, that in Kharkiv, as a result of a kamikaze drone attack on February 9, about 3,000 tons of diesel fuel and gasoline fell into the Lopan, Nemyshlya, and Udy rivers at the oil depot. The local authorities were criticized for responding to the pollution, which could lead to an environmental disaster, 4 days later.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, according to preliminary estimates, the environmental damage caused by the enemy attack on the oil depot in Kharkiv and the spill of 3,000 tons of fuel, including into rivers, is more than UAH 30 million.

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