Arctic oil spill is the second largest in Russia’s history

20,000 tonnes of diesel leaked into a river near the city of Norilsk. Ground subsidence is suspected to be the cause.

A tank at a power plant owned by Norilsk Nickel collapsed releasing the diesel. The spill contaminated an area the size of 135 square miles and owners of the plant have been criticised for not reporting the spill earlier. This may now lead to criminal proceedings taking place.

The subsidence that occurred is due to permafrost melting. Scientific reports have warned extraction companies if the threat of the melt and many companies are mitigating this by reducing the size and weight of the tanks in areas or raising them off the ground.

The cost of the clean up is likely to be £1.2 billion.

For more on this story, read the following article:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52941845?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment&link_location=live-reporting-story