MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/. The Clean Arctic environmental project's volunteers removed about 4.5 tons of barrels from Cape Chelyuskin, and it will take at least 10 years to clean up the cape, the project's press service said.
"Over a month, the volunteers conducted a detailed reconnaissance, took orthophotographs. This is necessary to plan future expeditions, to break the area into squares - for a more efficient cleanup. Since there are about 40,000 barrels on the cape, it will take up to ten years to clean it," the press service said.
The project volunteers have collected about 4.5 tons of barrels. "In fact, jointly with the Northern Department [for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring] we have practiced a cleaning technology and we will recommend it as optimal for hard-to-reach locations. Not to damage the tundra surface, the volunteers have rolled the barrels manually. Then, they put the barrels into grids that the helicopter brought on board the ship. We plan that next season already we will remove this way about 5,000 tons of barrels from [Cape] Chelyuskin," the Clean Arctic project's leader Andrey Nagibin added.
According to the Northern Department's leader Roman Ershov, machinery, materials, fuel and many more items were brought to Cape Chelyuskin since the 1930s. "We may say. this expedition begins a process to restore order at that weather station. We are beginning systematic work to collect and transport the accumulated damage to the mainland," he said.
The Clean Arctic Public Environmental Project has been cleaning northern territories since 2021, focusing on the USSR heritage. Waste disposal is a complex technological task, taking into account the Arctic's natural features. Over three seasons, the project's volunteers have collected 12,000 tons of waste.