The filling of Anapa's beaches is insufficient to ensure the safety of vacationers.

Quarry sand will not solve the problem of fuel oil emissions, but will only temporarily conceal the pollution on Anapa's beaches. The quality of the sand used to fill one of the beaches does not match what tourists in Anapa are accustomed to and could jeopardize the resort's reputation, environmentalists and activists noted.

As reported by "Kavkazsky Uzel," the quality of the sand brought to Anapa's beach is questionable. It is construction sand with clay impurities, an ecologist pointed out, noting that this could cause long-term damage to the beaches. Users believe that the goal of opening the beaches will be achieved despite the damage to nature.

Ecologists have deemed the backfilling of Anapa's beaches useless in the long term.

New quarry sand will not solve the problem of fuel oil emissions; it will only temporarily conceal the pollution, ecologist Valery Brinikh is confident.

It is impossible to ensure complete safety for vacationers without completely removing the contaminated soil, which authorities are not doing due to the high cost and time-consuming nature of the work.

"Fuel oil has penetrated to a depth of up to a meter into groundwater, bottom sediments, and the coastal zone. Filling with new sand will create "A barrier layer will be created, but it won't eliminate the toxins underneath. Sea waves, tides, and coastal erosion will gradually wash away the contaminated bottom layer and mix with new sand and seawater. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from fuel oil are carcinogens that persist for decades. "It's impossible to ensure complete safety for vacationers without completely removing the contaminated soil, which authorities aren't doing due to the high cost and time-consuming nature of the work," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, a 70-centimeter layer could theoretically create a temporary barrier, but in practice, it will inevitably mix with the old contaminated sand.

"Natural coastal erosion during storms and sea waves, groundwater movement, the actions of vacationers themselves, and the work of beach cleaning and leveling equipment—all of this will lead to the boundaries between the layers blurring within one or two seasons, and toxins will begin to appear on the surface. Moreover, 70 centimeters is not enough depth if the fuel oil has penetrated deeper than a meter, as some tests show. Seawater circulates through the sand, washing toxins from the bottom up, making the barrier permeable," he noted.

As for user complaints about dusty and clayey sand, they point to the poor quality of imported material.

20:46 14.03.2026

Quality of sand brought to the beach has raised questions among Anapa residents

The sand dumped on Miracleon Beach is fine and clay-like, Telegram users reported.

"Beach sand should be quartz, coarse-grained, clean, and free of clay and dust impurities to drain water well and not stick to the skin. Quarry sand often contains clay and fine dust, making it unsuitable for beaches," he emphasized.

Andrey Makarov, a postgraduate ecologist at the Russian Biotechnology University, agrees with the ecologist's opinion.

"Non-quartz sand does not solve the problem of fuel oil pollution; it is rather a cosmetic issue." "Measure. Fuel oil remains in deep soil layers, in coastal sediments, and in groundwater. New sand creates a temporary visual effect of a clean beach, but the toxins do not disappear. Benzopyrene and other carcinogens from fuel oil slowly migrate upward through the sand layer, especially when in contact with seawater, which constantly circulates through the soil," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, the problem will be solved by completely excavating the contaminated soil to a depth of 1.5-2 meters.

"70 centimeters of new sand is an insufficient barrier. Sand layers inevitably mix due to natural processes; after a year or two, the layers will begin to blend, and the toxins will surface. A reliable barrier requires a layer at least 1.5 meters thick, plus a waterproof membrane between the layers, but this is technically complex and expensive." "And if the new sand is dusty and clayey, it's unsuitable for beaches," the expert noted.

High-quality beach sand should be quartz, coarse-grained, clean, and drain well. Instead, people are offered a clay mixture, which creates discomfort and may contain additional contaminants from the quarry.

An environmentalist, who spoke anonymously, also believes that quarry sand with its high clay and dust content is completely unsuitable for beaches.

"It sticks to the body, turns to mud when wet, and when dry, forms dust clouds that get into the eyes, nose, and lungs. High-quality beach sand should be quartz, coarse-grained, clean, and drain well. "Instead, people are offered a clay mixture that creates discomfort and may contain additional contaminants from the quarry," he told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

New sand will create the illusion of cleanliness for one or two seasons, but then the contamination will reappear.

Therefore, this sand does not solve the beach problem.

"New non-quartz sand from quarries does absolutely nothing to solve the problem of fuel oil contamination. New sand will create the illusion of cleanliness for one or two seasons, but then the contamination will reappear through erosion, storms, and the mixing of layers. The boundaries between the layers will blur, and the fuel oil will end up on the surface. “A real barrier requires a layer of at least 1.5 meters, but even this does not guarantee safety without complete removal of the contamination,” he emphasized.

The fate of the beaches raises concerns

Blogger Andrey Makovozov also believes that new sand will not solve the problem.

“Essentially, the only criterion by which its quality is currently assessed is the absence of hydrocarbons in the composition, and the actual physical and chemical composition, visual and therapeutic components, as I understand it, no one cares, and this is the key problem,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

As for the depth of 70 centimeters, this, in his opinion, should be enough.

“In principle, 70 cm is enough if they fill from the water's edge to the dunes; approximately this volume was removed during the removal, and also washed away after "The sand itself is completely unsuitable for recreational use. I consider this 'experiment' a failure, since we were initially promised that this sand would be identical in composition and appearance. I'm currently doing renovations at home, and I ordered sand, and they delivered sand from the quarry that's much cleaner and better in appearance than what they brought to Vityazevo," he noted.

Makovozov also added that there's a risk that Anapa will cease to be considered a resort with therapeutic sand.

"The city administration announced that they plan to fill all the beaches with this sand within three months, but I think it would be better to do nothing at all and leave it as is. Otherwise, Anapa will cease to exist as a resort with therapeutic sand. Hopes of mixing it with sand from the dunes are unfounded - it will take many years, during which time people "He will be completely disappointed with the "updated" beaches, since the resort's image was already tarnished by the fuel oil incident. If the beaches are repaved for show, so that Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) will give the go-ahead for opening them, it will be a "Pyrrhic" victory – the beaches will be formally open, but in reality, relaxing on such sand will be impossible, especially for those who vacationed in Anapa many years ago and will immediately feel the horrific contrast in the quality of the sand," he emphasized.

16:25 30.01.2026

Authorities have not yet begun pumping fuel oil from the sunken tanker parts near Anapa

Work is underway in the Kerch Strait to install piles for cofferdams, while the protective structures themselves have already been installed over the sunken parts of the tankers carrying fuel oil. Pumping will begin only after the piles are installed, Rosmorrechflot reported.

Activist Zhanna Rybak, who cleans up fuel oil spills on beaches, believes the sand dumping is premature.

"I think the work on the sunken tankers isn't finished yet, and it's unlikely anyone will say for sure that there won't be any more spills. You could dump 170 cm, but the sea is still stronger. This was easy to understand by observing the protective embankment and what happened to it during one strong storm. Summer storms are minimal, so the erosion and mixing of the sand will be barely noticeable during the season. But in the future, it will definitely happen," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In her opinion, this type of sand is completely unsuitable for beach recreation.

"You only need to pick it up or walk on it to understand this," she said.