Putin told who should be responsible for the eliminating of accumulated environmental damage

Yelena Malyshkina, the correspondent of the Vesti-Irkutsk program, asked the head of state about the large-scale environmental incidents that occurred in 2020.

According to Putin, the problem is divided into two parts. “The first concerns the so-called accumulated damage, which is associated with the activities of enterprises that have remained from Soviet times. And the responsibility here lies with the authorities - regional and federal. And the sooner we get it done, the better. There are other problems as well - new, technogenic ones. Responsibility lies on the shoulders of the polluters”, - he said.

The situation with the accumulated environmental damage directly affects the Irkutsk region. This year, they began to eliminate waste at the industrial site of the former OOO Usoliekhimprom. According to the governor of the Irkutsk region Igor Kobzev, this is the most important task. He noted that in 2020 it was possible to achieve certain results that are visible to both the authorities and the population. “I would like to note that the Ministry of Defense has done serious work, thanks to which it was possible to avoid the release of harmful substances into the atmosphere”, - Kobzev said after the press conference.

At the moment, there is no threat to the life and health of people in Usolye-Sibirskoye. The activities planned for 2020 were completed ahead of schedule. In particular, 17 emergency tanks with toxic substances were brought into a safe state, the ground part of the mercury electrolysis workshop, which is the main source of pollution, was dismantled.

For 2021, it is planned to abandon the remaining wells, complete the dismantling of the mercury electrolysis workshop, as well as complete localization of the oil lens. The whole range of measures, which includes the socio-economic development of the territory, is designed until 2024.

“Improvement of the Usolye-Sibirskoye ecology should become an impetus for the development of the entire city. There are already big plans for the use of the site of the former Usoliekhimprom after cleaning, there are proposals from small and medium-sized businesses. And these are new enterprises, jobs, professional retraining of residents. Our task is to create a modern infrastructure in Usolye-Sibirskoye for a comfortable and safe life of people”, - says the Governor of the Irkutsk Region.