INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Volga River, one of Russia's major waterways and Europe's longest, holds significant economic and cultural importance for Russians
Stretching over 3,500 kilometers through central and southern Russia before meeting the Caspian Sea, this vital transportation artery
fenced-off area spanning 28 hectares called Beloye Morye ("White Sea")
Despite its romantic name, the site is in fact a toxic dumping ground of the Khimprom factory, which produced chemical weapons during the
Soviet era and was shut down in 2019."It's an absolute mess over there
and oil wells, old mines, quarries and illegal landfills
And if regional authorities had only the right to address these sites before, new regulations that take effect this month make it their
challenge for authorities and are putting the health of millions at risk.Beloye Morye started accumulating sludge in the mid-20th century
and it now holds between 1.5 million to 3.5 million tons of waste, according to various sources
In an effort to neutralize this waste, authorities started filling the dumping ground with lime in the 1970s, which gave Beloye Morye its
name.The site leaks multiple substances into the environment in concentrations hundreds and thousands of times above safe levels, including
Project with a budget of 20 billion rubles ($206 million) to count abandoned environmental hazards across the country and, based on their
Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko in 2022
and possibly reaches into the hundreds of thousands, veteran environmental expert Ivan Blokov told The Moscow Times, referring to
the responsibility for waste reclamation to the government
But when it has been standing for 30-50 years, it starts to crack in some places, it leaks in others
sunken ships and eliminate environmental damage along the shores of Lake Baikal
state efforts effectively address the most significant environmental hotspots is yet to be seen
Experts pointed to the fact that some sites that have drawn officials' attention to date appear to pose relatively lower environmental
risks.For instance, ships submerged decades ago have become part of the ecosystem in some cases and could be left as is
However, they may be retrieved for the sake of appearances, an expert in the field who requested anonymity due to security concerns told The
hectares, officials said, while environmental groups uncovered nearly 400 sites there in 2017, according to documents obtained by The Moscow
like mere eyesores, but some may still be leaking oil products
Furthermore, the seabed of the western Arctic is the resting place for approximately 18,000 containers of radioactive waste and other
Consequently, plants and animals receive their share of toxic pollution
one of the most perilous categories of accumulated waste, along with radioactive and chemical waste
Among the most prevailing objects throughout the country, the expert emphasized tailings with high sulfur content after ore enrichment and
environmental time bomb for 70 years, the issue has come to the attention of officials in recent years
forbid, something were to happen
at the ecological rehabilitation of the river basin in which about one-third of Russia's population resides
in predicting whether state plans and new regulations will lead to tangible results, pointing to doubts about staff capacities in the
