17:48, 1 June 2015

Experts declare manganese to be pollutant of Terek River in North Ossetia

The lilac water was discharged from the big pipe and dissolved in the body of the river's water. Photo by Emma Marzoeva for the ‘Caucasian Knot’

The Department for North Ossetia of the "Rosprirodnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Nature Supervision) has announced the results of studying the storm water manifold, which was used for discharged pollutants into the Terek River. According to the department, the concentration of manganese in the samples taken there exceeded the MPC (maximum permissible concentration) by 462 times.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 20 residents of Vladikavkaz complained the pollution of Terek in the area of the Krasnogvardeisky Bridge. Specialists of the above department confirmed the contamination.

On May 25, the republic's prosecutor's office concluded that the source of the pollution was the shop for the production of carbon dioxide in an abandoned part of the territory of Ossetian Factory of automobile and tractor electrical equipment (known as OZATE).

The inspection has revealed that for more than two years the factory had violated the permissible levels of discharging its sewage and pollutants into the river, said a source from the local "Rosprirodnadzor". "Specialists of the 'Rosprirodnadzor' will now calculate the damage caused to the Terek River; and then, administrative sanctions will be applied to the factory-infringer," the press service of the department has added.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Emma Marzoeva

Source: CK correspondent