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Russian consumer watchdog to check seawater quality after oil spill

The oil spill near Novorossiysk was reported on August 7

KRASNODAR, August 11. /TASS/. Specialists of the Russian Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare sampled water in recreation areas on the Black Sea in Novorossiysk for tests in respect of pollution by oil products, the Krasnodar Regional Department of the watchdog told TASS on Wednesday.

"The Novorossiysk Territorial Section of the Department of the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare for the Krasnodar Region sampled water in recreation areas. Samples will be tested for the pollution indicator of petroleum products content,’ the authority said.

The oil spill near Novorossiysk was reported on August 7. The reason was the burst release of oil from the Hellenic tanker Minerva Symphony in the Black Sea during loading from the CPC terminal, press service of the Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transport said. According to CPC, the spill area was about 200 sq m and the spilled oil volume was around 12 cubic meters. Later, the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences estimated the oil spill area at almost 80 sq km on the basis of satellite data.

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