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Murmansk Commercial seaport to spend 3 bln rubles to fight coal dust

The program envisages the introduction of unique and advanced technologies in terms of the ecology

MURMANSK, December 25. / TASS /. Murmansk Commercial Sea Port has developed a program to reduce emissions of coal dust with a total investment of over 3 billion rubles, governor of the Murmansk region Marina Kovtun told TASS on Tuesday.

"The company has developed a long-term environmental program with unprecedented funding in the amount of more than 3 billion rubles. The program involves the introduction of unique and advanced technologies in terms of the ecology of the port," Kovtun said.

Coal dust from fuel reloading at the Murmansk Commercial Sea Port, where coal is the main cargo, has remained one of the most acute environmental problems for several years. The port began the introduction of technologies that allow to reduce dust emissions. In particular, the company installed water cannons. As a result, dust formation decreased by 49%, weathering from coal piles to 60%. Now the port is implementing a project of building a protective screen around the cargo areas, which will have to delay some of the dust and reduce the effect of the wind. In addition, the company implemented projects to create green space. However, as the governor noted, it is too early to talk about a complete solution to the problem. "It will be possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures only when the company implements all the plans outlined," said Kovtun. The head of the region also added that to solve the problem, it is necessary to use mechanisms at the federal level. "For a systematic solution of the dusting problem in Russia during the transshipment of bulk cargo in the ports, it is necessary to make changes to federal legislation. It is necessary to establish the mandatory use of technologies for closed transshipment of this type of cargo," the governor said.