Bashkiria parliament appeals to Mishustin regarding former "Ufakhimprom" site

The environmental situation in the northern industrial zone of Ufa, linked to the former Ufakhimprom chemical plant, may be reviewed at the federal level. Deputies of the State Assembly — Kurultay of Bashkiria — have submitted an official request to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The request proposes including the territory of the former plant in the federal register of land plots eligible for environmental remediation, to be carried out by the Ministry of Natural Resources or its affiliated institutions. The site is already listed in the state environmental registry.

According to Konstantin Tolkachev, Chairman of the State Assembly of Bashkiria, approximately 20 billion rubles are required to address the issue, including 773.5 million rubles for design and estimate documentation. He noted that the republic’s budget does not currently have sufficient resources for this purpose. The site is located within the sanitary protection zone of Ufa’s largest water intake facility.

Ufakhimprom operated from 1942 to 2004, producing a range of chemical products. In 1990, a phenol leak occurred at the facility, resulting in environmental and water contamination. Following the plant’s closure, no land reclamation was undertaken. An estimated 400,000 tons of hazardous waste remain on the site.

The proposal aims to secure federal assistance for addressing the environmental conditions in the area.

Additional information on Bashkiria’s environmental policies is available in Bashinform’s reports.

Author: Ivan Vavilov