Tons of scrap to be evacuated from Amderma in 2012

Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment plans to continue reversing accumulated environmental damage in the Arctic. For example, as much as 18,000 tons of scrap metal will be shipped from the port of Amderma, Deputy Minister Rinat Gizatullin told a news conference, Environmental Results of 2011, at RIA Novosti.

The first accumulated damage reversal projects were launched in 2011, he said. In particular, an expedition surveyed Franz Josef Land and a clean-up on Wrangel Island began, with 1,500 discarded oil drums shipped away as a result.

“This is the first evacuation of any debris whatsoever from the northern territories,” he said.
In 2012, a similar effort will be launched on Spitsbergen and at the port of Amderma, Nenets Autonomous Area, which is likely to see between 12,000 and 18,000 tons of scrap metal shipped away, he said. According to preliminary estimates, the total polluted area around Amderma exceeds 82 square kilometers and the local scrap stockpiles may amount to 114,300 tons.