KOMI, RUSSIA
Potentially affected people: 46,000
Type of pollutants: Benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene and other petroleum related chemicals
Site description: The oil spill near the town of Usinsk in Northern Russia (Komi republic) is one of the most serious environmental disasters of the decade. The pipeline just south of the Arctic Circle had been leaking since February 1994 but the oil was contained within a dike built for this purpose. On October 1 of that year the dike collapsed because of cold and snow. Following the collapse, around 102,000 tons of oil began to pour onto the Siberian tundra. The spill reached the Kolva River, a tributary of the Pechora River, which falls into the Barents Sea. Life within the rivers as well as the fragile environment of the Artic have been seriously endangered by this oil spill. Experts estimate the spill to be eight times greater than the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The ruptured pipeline is the third largest oil spill in history. Along the oil pipelines, which experience hundreds of leaks and breakages each year, the ground is saturated with oil. Some of the oil has already seeped into the water table. The oil spread across 170 acres of streams and fragile bogs and marshland.
Local villagers have suffered for years from the effects of the petroleum pollution from the many oil spills in the region. Most natives are worried about the fish living in the Kolva River. Exclaimed one resident, "The river used to have lots of fish, now there are hardly any at all and when we cook them they smell bad...people here survive but they are worried about the future".
Cleanup Activities: The Russian government has assumed responsibility for the cleanup of this oil spill. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has lent the clean-up operation $25 million and the World Bank has provided $100 million. A US-Australian joint venture (AES/Hartec) was also hired to clean up the spill. Lake Schuchye was heavily polluted, but reductions with flotation technology reduced the hydrocarbons from 53,3 g/kg to 2.2 g/kg, removing 157 tons of crude oil.
”The Russian Arctic Oil Spill”. Trade and Environment Database (TED). (1997) Jan. 11.
http://www.american.edu/ted/komi.htm
A. V. Yablokov. “Environmental Problems in North-West Russia”. International Network of Engineers and Scientists against proliferation (inesap). (1997) August.
http://www.inesap.org/bulletin15/bul15art09.htm
S. V. Lushnikov, Y. A. Frank, and D. S. Vorobyov. “Oil decontamination of bottom sediments experimental work results”. Earth Sciences Research journal. (2006). 10 (1): 35-40.
