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Russian Arctic oil spill now threatens Arctic Ocean

The diesel fuel spill happened on or about May 29 when a storage tank at a power plant near Norilsk sank because of melting permafrost, which weakened its supports. Some 21,000 tons or 150,000 barrels of diesel fuel contaminated the Ambarnaya river and marshy wilderness.

Environmental groups are likening the oil spill to the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska in 1989, noting how this highlights the risks of industrial development in the now thawing Arctic due to climate change. Climate change is warming the Arctic at a rate that is about twice as fast as the rest of the Earth.

Emergency workers deployed booms to contain the diesel fuel on the Ambarnaya River, which is a tributary of Lake Pyasino, further to the North. The lake feeds a river that flows into the Kara Sea arm of the Arctic. The barriers have not worked very well – as the fuel has seeped into the marshy riverbanks and continues to spread.


Svetlana Radionova, the head of Russia’s natural resources agency Rosprirodnadzor, has denied that any fuel has reached the lake, according to Deutsche Welle. But local inspectors are saying the testing being done by the state agency is not adequate and the lake is probably contaminated.

“The fuel has got into Lake Pyasino,” said Alexander Uss, governor of Krasnoyarsk region, reports the BBC. “This is a beautiful lake about 70 kilometers [45 miles] long. Naturally, it has both fish and a good biosphere. Now it’s important to prevent it from getting into the Pyasina river, which flows north. That should be possible.”

The fuel spill was declared a federal emergency on June 3 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Monday, the Ministry for Development of the Far East and the Arctic announced it was planning to roll out a monitoring system for changes in permafrost in the region.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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