Leaked Rocket Fuel May Have Contaminated Russia's Waters in the Kamchatka Region

Environmentalists are worried about the water pollution caused by Russia's nuclear plants, oil tankers, and military activity in the Arctic for years, namely in the Kamchatka region. Russia's World Wildlife Fund and scientists have recently assessed the water contamination in the region and how marine life has been affected.

Locals have reported numerous marine species washed up on the shores including dead mollusks, octopuses, and seals. Moreover, surfers experienced stinging eyes after swimming in the bay area.

Divers from the Kronotsky Reserve discovered a mass death of marine creatures at 16 to 33 feet into the Pacific Waters off the shore of the Kamchatka peninsula. They reported that nearly 95% of the creatures were dead.

Mass Death of Marine Wildlife

Only a small number of crabs, fish, and prawns are left, shared a scientist with Kamchatka's Governor Vladimir Solodov. Kamchatka was formerly known for its thriving wildlife and ecosystem, including brown bears. WWF Russia recently released a report about the region alongside the Sustainable Marine Fisheries Program.

Sergey Korostelev noticed that recent photos of the region had significant amounts of red algae, which typically live in deeper waters and rarely get washed up on the shore from storms. The same is true with mollusks and other gastropods, whose washed up shells would typically be empty and not have a dead creature inside.

There were also notable amounts of dead sea urchins, clams, and a pentagonal coastal crab. Since there are many seagulls in the area, they may have already consumed all the dead fish that washed up on the shores as well.

Find the Source of Water Contamination

Kamchatka has several military sites as testing grounds and storage areas for rocket fuel. Earlier this year, Russia had already dealt with a disastrous oil spill from a local nuclear plant. Experts have feared that rocket fuel may have leaked into the soil and made its way in the waters.

When surfers experienced mild cornea burns after swimming in the bay area, they also reported that the water was a different color and had a particular odor. Solodov shared that the most obvious answer is that the Kozelsky chemical site is the source of the pollution.

The site stored pesticides since 1979, has no legal owner, and is left unguarded. Official accounts have records of over 100 tons of poisonous chemicals and pesticides stored in Kozelsky. Scientists also tested the soil in another site, Radygino, which was recently used for military drills and have old stores of rocket fuel.

WWF Russia's Alexey Knizhnikov said that the stories of local surfers and mass death of plants and animals have led to the preliminary conclusion that pollution has reached the depths of the water. Oil spills only affect the surface layer while chemicals can affect the entire body of water.

Pollution in the form of yellow foam on the ocean surface and opaque water was seen to be drifting south towards volcanic areas, shared Vasily Yablokov from Greenpeace Russia. The Volcanoes of Kamchatka are a World Heritage Site protected by UNESCO.

«We've observed a yellowish foam on the ocean surface. The water itself is opaque. In one location we found dead animals. A certain volume of pollutant, not only on the surface, but also at depth, moves along the coast», Vasily Yablokov, Greenpeace Russia climate project leader. pic.twitter.com/icLrFptiFC — Greenpeace Russia (@greenpeaceru) October 5, 2020