Svetlana Radionova, head of Russia’s environmental control Rosprirodnadzor discussed the environmental disaster in Norilsk with media. After depressurization of the oil storage facility at the TPS-3 power plant controlled by Norilsk Nickel, 21 thousand tons of diesel fuel spilled into the environment and water ponds of the Arctic – this is approximately 400 tank wagons.
According to Rosprirodnadzor estimates, the scale of pollution is very considerable, and the audited production facilities were in poor technical condition. The time-frame for the elimination will be delayed: 14 days previously referred to are only the first phase. According to Radionova, the whole process will last much longer and will continue “until nature is completely cleansed”. And ensuring actual environmental safety in the region will be possible only after profound modernization of all defense stores.
Radionova noted that the owners of steel companies have been spending money for many years on anything, but not on modernization. The department has poor contact with steel producers. At the same time, Radionova praised the oil companies that are much more attentive to and compliant with regulatory requirements.
The environmental transparency of oil and gas companies that has grown in recent years and their compliance with regulatory requirements, are also the result of our joint work. Since 2014, the CREON Group, CREON Capital and WWF России have been compiling an Environmental Transparency Rating for oil and gas companies, not only evaluating the environmental responsibility of the largest oil and gas enterprises in the post-Soviet countries, but also their safety and efficiency.
We are sure that after the Norilsk accident business attention to the environment and ESG-factors of sustainable development will multiply. And we hope that still companies are ready for change.
