Sibay residents met with health officials in connection with smog

UFA, 17 January 2019. /Bashinform News Agency/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/. Toxicologists and medical specialists came from Ufa to Sibay to study the situation caused by the gas pollution due to the smoldering of the dumps of the Sibay UGOK (Uchalinsky Mining and Processing Plant JSC).On January 16, they met with residents of the city with a report on interim results of observations and answered their questions.

During the meeting, Dinara Enikeeva, the Deputy Minister of Health of the region, reported that there was no increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases among adults, but there was an increase in outpatient children's visits, it was similar to growth throughout the republic.

“More than 100 inpatient beds have been reserved in the city and anyone who addresses to doctors will be hospitalized if there is a necessity. The invited specialized doctors will work as long as necessary in Sibay”, the deputy minister said.

Experts have concluded that the recorded concentrations of harmful substances in Sibay are not as dangerous as sources of acute poisoning, but they cause discomfort to the entire population.

"Today, 30 patients were examined with a long course of chronic and protracted acute illness," the head pulmonologist RB Rustem Zulkarnaev reported. "We did not observe any clinical features associated with the environmental situation in these patients".

The chief toxicologist RB, Guzel Biktimirova, complained of inadequate warning of people about the unfavorable environmental situation.

"This is a major flaw of the Emergencies Ministry and the city administration," she said.

Parents asked doctors what measures should be taken to protect their children. Lyudmila Ovsyannikova, a professor of the Department of Hygiene of Bashkir State Medical University, honored doctor of the Republic of Bashkortostan, answered these questions in detail:

"The methods are simple: wash your hands and open parts of the body when you come home, drink more fluids, take B vitamins (if you are not allergic to them), eat more vegetables and fruit, humidify apartments. As for ventilation, you can only open the windows only when there are no emissions. When there is information about adverse weather conditions or new emissions, at this time the windows should be closed. If possible, stay indoors".