TASS, May 31. Volunteers from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and the Czech Republic will participate in ecology expeditions in the Yamalo-Nenets Region. They will go on cleanup missions to villages Salemal and Seyakha and to the Vilkitsky Island in the Kara Sea, the regional government’s press service said.
"After having interviewed the applicants, who have taken special courses, we chose 54 people, who will take part in summer expeditions to villages Salemal and Seyakha and to the Vilkitsky Island," the press service said. "They are both experienced volunteers and those who will take part in the cleanup for the first time."
"The volunteers represent 20 Russian regions and three countries - Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic and Belarus," the press service added. "On the Vilkitsky Island, they will pile up scrap metal for further transportation."
For six weeks, the applicants participated in webinars, took tests in ecology, the press service said. They received information about the Arctic and in particular about ecology projects in the Yamalo-Nenets Region. The total duration of lectures was more than 30 hours.
The industrial waste had remained in the Yamalo-Nenets Region, including on the Vilkitsky Island, since the first wave of Yamal’s intensive exploration in the 1960-1970s. Back then, ecology standards in hydrocarbon production were less strict, and the damage was only growing.
Since 2017, Green Arctic’s volunteers continue the cleanup mission on the uninhibited Vilkitsky Island in the Kara Sea. Over four years, they have collected more than 500 tonnes of metal and other waste, 4,000 barrels, formerly used to store fuel, and disassembled six kilometers of a pipeline.