Russia removes thousands of tons of contaminated sand after oil spill in Black Sea By Reuters
(Reuters) – Russian rescuers have removed more than 86,000 tons of contaminated sand and silt from both sides of the Kerch Strait following an oil spill in the Black Sea last month, the emergency ministry said on Saturday.
Oil leaked from two dilapidated ships that were hit by a storm on December 15. One sank and the other sank.
More than 10,000 people were working to lift the viscous, foul-smelling oil from the sandy beaches in and around Anapa, a popular summer resort. Environmental groups have reported deaths of dolphins, porpoises and seabirds.
The Emergencies Ministry said in the Telegram messaging system that oil-contaminated soil had accumulated in Russia’s vast Kuban region and Crimea, which Moscow seized from Kyiv in 2014.
The department released video footage showing a number of workers wearing protective suits loading bags of dirt into the bins and others scooping dirt out of the sand with shovels.
Russia’s Ministry of Transport said this week that experts had found that about 2,400 metric tons of oil products had spilled into the sea, a smaller spill than initially feared.
When disaster struck, state media reported that the stricken tankers, both more than 50 years old, were carrying about 9,200 metric tons (62,000 barrels) of oil products in total.
The spill involved M100-grade heavy oil that solidifies at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and, unlike other oil products, does not float to the surface but sinks or remains suspended in the water column.
