Russian Power Plant Spills Thousands Of Tons Of Oil Into Arctic Region

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency after a giant diesel fuel spill in a remote Arctic region 1,800 miles from Moscow.

After the accident Friday at a power plant owned by Norilsk Nickel, one of Russia's largest mining companies, Putin skewered officials for their sluggish response.

"Why did government agencies find out about this only after two days? Are we going to find out about emergencies from social media now?" Putin asked a Norilsk Nickel manager during a teleconference on Wednesday.

Of the approximately 23,000 U.S. tons of oil products that spilled into the environment, nearly 17,000 tons flowed into a river, according to Russia's environmental inspection agency. By comparison, the volume of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska was about 39,000 tons of oil.

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/04/869936256/russian-power-plant-spills-thousands-of-tons-of-oil-into-arctic-region?utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&fbclid=IwAR01yYtl7mmG1AYW6VWQAh0RtUi1d0ROCzMYrs6fUB9N0tbIttPfoVsumes