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Siberian region readies for pollution from Kazakhstan

Spokeswoman of the Siberian emergency center Olesya Yenina told the accident occurred yet on October 29 however the information arrived only yesterday

KRASNOYARSK, November 3 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian Omsk region in Siberia is readying for the arrival of polluted waters in the Irtysh River from Kazakhstan where an accident at a gold-mining facility discharged cyanides and their concentration exceeded the permissible level 517-fold.

Spokeswoman of the Siberian emergency center Olesya Yenina told Tass on Thursday the accident occurred yet on October 29 however the information arrived only yesterday.

She said a production test at the waste treatment system at the Sekisovskoe gold-mining enterprise in eastern Kazakhstan resulted in an accident and discharge of polluted water in rivers flowing into the Irtysh. “The distance from the accident site to the border with Omsk region is 1200 kilometers,” the spokeswoman said.

Yenina said cyanides quickly decay in water. “Therefore there is no threat of water contamination in Omsk region,” she added.

However local experts are checking the Irtysh water every hour and will do it up to November 15. Contaminated water is expected to arrive in Omsk on November 11-12 and emergency experts are preparing the necessary amount of absorbing substances.