waste place

The metropolitan authorities called the statement of Roshydromet about excessive pollution of the Moscow River a PR

Rumors about excessive pollution of the Moscow River are greatly exaggerated. This is the opinion of the capital’s Department of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection, whose head Leonid Bochin told reporters last Friday that the latest statements by Roshydromet that it is time to sound the alarm - the Moscow River is overflowing with chemicals - are just “ a way to express yourself,” that is, ordinary PR.

The reason for Mr. Bochin’s appeal to journalists was that over the past two weeks, Roshydromet has been constantly talking about the extremely high content of nitrogen nitrite in the Moscow River. According to hydrometeorologists, the excess content of this harmful substance in water ranges from 50 to 60 maximum permissible concentrations (MPC). Roshydromet told a Vremya Novostey correspondent that on October 16, during one of the scheduled water checks in the Moscow River in the Brateev area, such an “extremely high” content of nitrogen nitrite was detected for the first time. Then it turned out that almost the entire river was polluted - from Brateev to Kolomna, a dangerous amount of the chemical was found even in the Oka.

Concerned environmentalists, together with representatives of the environmental prosecutor's office, raided the river to find the source of the pollution. According to one version, the cause of the contamination could have been the Moscow Oil Refinery (MNPZ). It is in this area, according to Roshydromet, that the nitrogen nitrite content is the highest - 78 MAC. But the version about the involvement of the Moscow Refinery in harmful emissions was not confirmed as a result of the inspection. Environmentalists also had questions about the Kuryanovskaya aeration station - in their opinion, it could also become a source of pollution, and inspections are currently underway there.

And the Moscow government, oddly enough, believes that there is no dangerous pollution of the Moscow River at all. “One can only be surprised at how unreliably and unprofessionally the environmental situation in Moscow is assessed,” said the head of the environmental management department, Mr. Bochin, last Friday. According to his department’s estimates, the level of pollution exceeds the permissible “only” 30-40 times, and this would be catastrophic if the Moscow River were considered a “reservoir for fishing purposes,” but it is not one of those. This, according to Mr. Bochin, is the main reason for the misconception of colleagues from Roshydromet. But for a “reservoir for cultural and domestic purposes,” which, according to the head of the department, is precisely the Moscow River, a figure of 30-60 MPC of nitrite is normal. And Roshydromet, Mr. Bochin believes, has exaggerated its colors somewhat. “All statements come from one Roshydromet employee, apparently authorized by someone,” suggested the capital’s Minister of Ecology. - In this way they want to express themselves. Now they are remembered, and that means they are a necessary office.”

Roshydromet did not agree with such statements. “We don’t have any PR campaign. We absolutely don't need this. Bochin, instead of taking measures to eliminate this source of pollution, begins to deal with the maximum permissible concentrations and standards. It is he who violates his job description, not us,” Roshydromet employee Larisa Minaeva told Vremya Novostei.

Greenpeace Russia, whose employees have been conducting research on the Moscow River for a long time, also did not agree with the position of the capital’s authorities. “According to the law, the Moscow River is a fishery reservoir. And according to the standards, such pollution indicators are unacceptable. And since the pollution occurred on the territory of Moscow and has already spread beyond its borders, then, naturally, the authorities will defend their reputation,” Aleksey Kiselev, coordinator of the toxic program of Greenpeace Russia, told Vremya Novostey.

Kirill MELNIKOV