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Angara River oil spill in Russia’s Irkutsk region liquidated

Experts continue to take water samples downstream and upstream the river

IRKUTSK, July 18 (Itar-Tass) — Rescue teams liquidated an oil spill found on the Angara River in the town of Usolye-Sibirskoye on Tuesday, the press service of the Irkutsk region government told Itar-Tass.

“Rescuers filled the polluted water area with absorbing agents,” the head of the regional environmental protection service, Irina Galtseva, said on Wednesday.

Petroleum products spilled from Usolmash plant’s storm drain into the Angara River. There was no malfunction at the plant. An oil spill covered an area of over 0.5 hectares and gathered 3 meters downstream, the regional emergencies department told Itar-Tass.

Experts continue to take water samples downstream and upstream the river. Samples taken in the morning 1 kilometer downstream showed that hydrocarbons exceeded maximally permissible concentration ten times.

There was no threat to the population as the town of Usolye-Sibirskoye receives water from a water intake system on the Belaya River. The water intake structure on the Angara River has been shut down since January 2012.

Last April 300 tonnes of diesel fuel spilled into the Angara River from another plant in Usolye-Sibirskoye, which blocked for one week a water intake system in the town of Svirsk located downstream.