Russia’s environment ministry last week launched an investigation into the incident after images showed the Daldykan river near Norilsk in the far north of Russian Federation flowing bright red, with local activists blaming the nearby Nadezhda metallurgical plant.
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The mystery behind the bright red color of a river in Siberia may have been solved. “Short-term river color staining with iron salts presents no hazards for people and river fauna”, the press release continues.
Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel has admitted a spillage at one of its plants was responsible for turning a local river blood red. Russia’s natural resources and environment ministry has started an investigation and says preliminary information points toward Norilsk Nickel’s Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant which is located upstream.
Environmental activists said the company can’t make that assumption on the environmental impact.
“You can’t just say that it’s no big deal”, Alexei Kiselyov told the AFP news agency.
There is a lot of mining near Norilsk, because the area has massive deposits of nickel, copper and palladium, CNN noted.
Groups that represent indigenous populations in the region said local media outlets blacked out the incident, without informing the public of the accident. “We are not experts; all we can do is take a picture”.
The Norilsk region is one of the most polluted regions in the world.
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Last week, residents shared online images of the river and contacted authorities.
