The shutdown of the Norilsk Nickel Plant earlier this year has reduced toxic emissions by 30 percent, State Secretary Yelena Bezdenezhnykh, Norilsk Nickel MMC vice president in charge of cooperation with state administrative and management agencies, told participants of the Arctic Days in Moscow forum.

"We have reduced toxic emissions in Norilsk by 30 percent," she said.

Built in 1942, the Norilsk Nickel Plant ranks among the oldest companies in the Taimyr Peninsula. Its shutdown was motivated by obsolete production equipment. The enterprise emitted about 380,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide annually.

"We need to shut down old production facilities. This is the right way to go in terms of environmental protection and competition," Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi said while commenting on the plant's shutdown. The country should focus on introducing innovation technologies, including those in the area of minerals production and processing, he added. A number of obsolete Russian plants will be upgraded during the national Year of the Environment, the Minister stressed.