“Polyef” Plant must reimburse for nature damage - Radiy Khabirov

UFA, 5 August 2019. /Bashinform News Agency, Gulfiya Akulova/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

Today, at a briefing session in the Government of Bashkiria, the Acting Head of the republic, Radiy Khabirov emphasized that the “Polyef”plant, the discharge of which led to the pollution of the Izyak River in the Blagoveshchensky district, would have to compensate for the damage caused to nature.

“We should complete evaluating the damage done. The company management quite clearly interacts with us and listen to us. Of course, within the framework of legal procedures, they should compensate the damage, ” he said.

As it was noted at the meeting, the ecological situation in the Izyak River was currently normalizing.

On July 26, the information about the death of fish in the Izyak River and the turbidity of the water was reported by eyewitnesses. Supervisory authorities have established that the source of pollution was located at the confluence of the Kamyshly river (stream) into the Izyak river. The source of pollution turned out to be two sewage wells of the Polyef plant - the largest producer of terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate. From here, the runoff of polluted waters was directed to a ravine, and then to the Kamyshla stream. According to the management of the enterprise, they were intended for the discharge of storm sewage and did not imply the discharge of polluted water from the territory of the plant. Now Polyef is conducting an internal audit on this fact, and the Bashkir Environmental Prosecutor’s Office is carrying out its investigation.

After eliminating the source of pollution, the concentration of pollutants in the Kamyshla River and in the Izyak River began to decrease. The value of dissolved oxygen also returned to normal. Today, water indicators in the Izyak River and in the Ufa River are fully consistent with regulatory parameters. According to experts, there is no threat of contamination of drinking water. Nevertheless, control over this situation continues.