MOSCOW, June 18. / TASS /. Scientists estimate the damage to aquatic biological resources due to the accident at CNPP-3 in Norilsk to be significant, the press service of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography told TASS on Thursday.

"During a field survey from June 11 to 18, employees of the Krasnoyarsk and Tyumen branches of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography conducted research by taking hydrobiological samples at 15 stations at the mouth of the Ambarnaya River and in Lake Pyasino. According to scientists, the damage the region’s water biological resources from the accident are significant," the report said.

It is noted that during the study period 24 samples of zoobenthos, 34 samples of zooplankton, 15 samples of phytoplankton, 11 samples of soil for the content of oil products were selected.

To continue the research, the head of the Federal Agency for Fishery agreed on an expedition, the route of which will go from the strait to the confluence of the Pyasin River in the Kara Sea, through water bodies of the Nadezhdinsky stream, the Daldykan river, Ambarnaya river, and Pyasino lake. The duration of the expedition will be 30-40 days, depending on weather conditions.

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.