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Three managers of CHPP-3 power plant detained in case of fuel spill in Norilsk

The investigators established that the storage tank required major repairs since 2018

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Three managers of the CHPP-3 power plant were detained in case of the fuel spill of more than 21,000 cubic meters of diesel fuel in Norilsk, spokeswoman of Russia’s Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko told reporters.

The detained persons are:, head of the CHPP-3 of the Norilsk-Taimyr energy company Pavel Smirnov, chief engineer Aleksey Stepanov, and deputy chief engineer Yury Kuznetsov.

According to her, the investigators established that the storage tank required major repairs since 2018. In November 2018, the inspection headed by chief engineer Aleksey Stepanov commissioned the tank without industrial safety expertise. The act was approved by the head of the enterprise Pavel Smirnov.

"Operation of the tank continued regardless of its emergency condition, violating safety rules," Petrenko said.

"Today, these persons were detained on suspicion of committing a crime under Article 246 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Violation of the Rules for Environmental Protection During the Performance of Works). It is planned to bring charges against them in the near future and to choose a preventive measure in respect of them in the form of taking into custody," a representative of the Investigative Committee added.

Read also

Norilsk fuel spill won’t reach Kara Sea, expert vows

Earlier, the Investigative Committee detained Vyacheslav Starostin, head of the CHPP-3 workshop, he is facing charges under the same article. He was taken into custody.

The loss of containment of the diesel fuel tank occurred on the territory of the combined heat and power plant CHPP-3 in Norilsk, Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region, on May 29. A motor vehicle entered the fuel spill then, causing the fire outbreak. More than 210,000 tonnes of fuel were spilled in total.

Over 500 people are involved in the clean-up of the fuel spill. A marine rescue service detachment from Murmansk, which has the experience in eliminating more than 50 oil spills in different parts of the world, is working on the spot. The experts managed to set several lines of barriers on the Ambarnaya River and limit the spread of petroleum products. Rescuers localized the spill. The soil on the site was replaced and treated with special sorbents. Contaminated soil was transported to a temporary storage facility.

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