Environmentalists have pointed out the danger of combustion products for residents of Tuapse.

The ongoing fire at the Tuapse marine terminal poses a danger to residents due to the release of combustion products, which are carcinogenic and toxic. Environmentalists emphasized that the "black rain" that fell in Tuapse reduced the level of harmful substances in the air but led to soil contamination.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," a fire broke out at the Tuapse oil terminal following a drone attack on the night of April 20. On the evening of April 20, local residents reported that "oil rain" had fallen in the city. Environmentalists warned that the "oil rain" and smoke from the fire at the oil depot pose a health hazard, and Tuapse residents called the situation in the city an environmental disaster. Amid air pollution and a new "oil rain" in Tuapse, local residents are rarely going outside and prohibiting children from playing in their yards. Residents fear further attacks and consider the burning oil terminal a source of environmental threat.

Environmentalists point out risks for Tuapse residents

The black or oil rain that fell in Tuapse contains many combustion products, specifically soot, noted environmental activist Vladimir Slivyak.

"The air and this rain contain carcinogenic and toxic substances. People with lung diseases, especially children, will be affected." This is an extremely dangerous phenomenon,” he noted.

According to the environmental activist, there are practically no means to prevent the danger.

“There shouldn’t be any fires or spills, and if there are, there will be black rain,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Ecologist Valery Brinikh noted a number of consequences of oil storage tanker fires.

“When petroleum products burn, black rain is soot that is washed out of the air with the rain. Pure carbon in the form of dust is present in the air and falls to the ground as black rain. If there is no rain, this soot is in the air, and we breathe it. This soot gets into the lungs, settles, and this is air pollution, and from there, pollution and human poisoning occur. In addition, when petroleum products burn, nitrogen oxide is formed. This is also a toxic substance, poisonous, therefore "Air pollution is an increased level of soot in the air and nitrogen oxide, which negatively impact human health. If you don't protect yourself, if you breathe it in, you'll ingest it and gradually become poisoned," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the ecologist, "black" rain actually reduces the level of combustion products in the air, but it creates a risk of them penetrating into the soil.

"Yes, rain cleans the air. Water droplets collect all this nastiness, and it all falls to the ground. But "black" rain isn't just rain; by reaction, it can also be acid rain, because nitrogen oxide in the air forms nitric acid, and what falls to the ground isn't just dirt and soot, but also acid rain, which affects both plants and the soil. But the danger can be anywhere air masses carry soot, so there's a complex effect," he said. Brinikh.

What's happening in Tuapse can be considered an environmental disaster

The authorities are not yet ready to acknowledge the existence of an environmental disaster due to the oil fire, says ecologist Yevgeny Vitishko.

"Even after the Tuapse landing, there has been no recognition of this environmental disaster. A state of emergency was declared only because of the drone strikes on houses, and everything else is being hushed up. Yesterday they at least indicated that there were some excesses in the air, but everything there, the river and the sea, is polluted,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

The ecologist did not rule out that, in addition to Tuapse, the products of the oil combustion could penetrate into other regions.

But so far there is no information from government agencies, only from social media. I am also monitoring the Lazarevsky District chat, the Gelendzhik chat. When traces of some oil products appear on the beaches, beach areas, then we can already think about the spread of this pollution,” Vitishko explained.

The area of ​​​​the fire at the sea terminal in Tuapse has almost halved since the fire broke out, the Krasnodar Territory task force reported today.
 
Currently, 276 people are involved in extinguishing the fire, 77 units are involved equipment.

It should be noted that photos of the smog were posted, in particular, on the Telegram channel "Goryachiy Klyuch News" on April 22. In the comments, residents noted that the city smelled of burning.

According to Yandex.Maps, the distance from Tuapse to Goryachy Klyuch is 47 kilometers.

Former Soviet chemist (one of the creators of "Novichok"), now living in the United States, Vil Mirzayanov, stated that The consequences of burning oil and petroleum products are akin to the use of chemical weapons. According to him, polyaromatic compounds are formed during combustion, including strong carcinogens. "The main thing is that once they enter the body, there is no way to get rid of them," Mirzayanov wrote on his Facebook account*.