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Specialists from Norway will participate in eliminating oil spill near Norilsk

Arrival of foreign experts is complicated by the situation with the spread of coronavirus in the world, but they will arrive in a few days

NORILSK, June 16. /TASS/. Specialists from Norway will arrive at the site of liquidation of the fuel spill at a thermoelectric power plant in Norilsk. They will evaluate the work done at the emergency site and make their own suggestions for improving the situation, Nornickel First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sergey Dyachenko told reporters.

"Three specialists will come from Norway. They would have been ready to sent a large team, but we agreed that they must first do reconnaissance at the site, see what they can really offer. We will discuss this situation and then determine the amount of aid," Dyachenko said.

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According to him, arrival of foreign experts is complicated by the situation with the spread of coronavirus in the world, but they will arrive in a few days.

Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Region Alexander Uss said earlier that the critical phase of eliminating the effects of the fuel spill at a thermoelectric power plant in Norilsk is over and the situation is under control. "The emergency group is large, some 700 people. There are specialists from the Emergencies Ministry and our own rescue service. The company’s own efforts play a major role. It has both specialists and financial resources. I won’t be wrong if I say that the most critical moment in eliminating the emergency is in the past already," Uss said.

The loss of containment of the diesel fuel tank occurred on the territory of the combined heat and power plant CHPP-3 (owned by the Norilsk-Taimyr Energy Company, a member of the Norilsk Nickel Group) in Norilsk on May 29. About 21,000 tonnes of fuel were spilled in total on the area of 180,000 square meters of soil and penetrated water objects, causing pollution and damage to the environment.

According to the crisis management center more than 30,600 cubic meters of oil and water mixture has been skimmed. More than 84,000 tonnes of soil has been taken to the thermoelectric plant’s industrial dump. The area treated with sorbents has grown to 63,100 square meters. A force of 705 specialists and 303 vehicles are involved in eliminating the effects of the oil spill.

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