Swimmers ill after mystery water pollution off Russian coast
October 3, 2020
Greenpeace said people have complained of sore throats, worsening eyesight, nausea, vomiting and fever after getting into the water. The cause of the pollution off the coast of Kamchatka region was not immediately clear.
Image: Alexandr Piragis/dpa/picture-alliance
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Russian authorities on Saturday ordered residents to stay away from a popular beach in the country's Far East due to unexplained water pollution.
The environmental group Greenpeace dubbed it an "ecological disaster," saying the pollution made some surfers sick.
Authorities said preliminary tests revealed elevated levels of oil products and the chemical phenol in the water.
Earlier this week, the region's acting natural resources minister Alexei Kumarkov said tests showed levels of oil products and phenol were 3.6 and 2.5 times higher than usual.
"The only thing it is possible to say now is there are contaminative substances in the water. Final tests are not ready yet," said Vladimir Solodov, Kamchatka's regional governor.
Greenpeace said the pollution, which likely happened weeks ago, was noticed over the course of several weeks by people on Khalaktyrsky beach, a section of Pacific coastline covered with black volcanic sand and is popular with tourists.
"The water... has changed color and become unsafe for people's health. For several weeks, people who were in contact with the water have experienced negative consequences," it said in a statement.
In pictures: Environmentalist groups and their concerns
Tens of thousands of protesters disrupted the IAA car show in Frankfurt on Saturday. The protests were organized by several environmentalist groups. DW looks at the groups, their aims and the problems they want to fight.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Joining forces: Environmental groups team up
Groups at the protest included #FridaysForFuture, an environmental protest movement started by activist Greta Thunberg. She sat outside the Swedish Parliament every day demanding the government take action on climate change. Her example soon sparked international school strikes. Other key groups in attendance were Greenpeace, cyclist-safety visibility group Critical Mass and Extinction Rebellion.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Cyclists riding for change
Critical Mass is a cyclists' environmental protest bicycle ride. It started in 1992 in San Francisco, and now Critical Mass groups are found all over the world. They organize rides in large groups that often block roads to make car drivers aware of cyclists. The Critical Mass website speaks of a "cycling culture that refuses to take a back seat to motorists."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Roessler
Greenpeace: In the place where change happens
Greenpeace is a non-violent environmental activist group. The organization has set out a plan for the world to be on track by 2020 to keep global climate change below 1.5° C. Among other aims, the group hopes to tackle environmental degradation of forests and oceans.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Roessler
The death of the combustion engine?
Evidence has towards the combustion engine's contribution to increasing global temperatures. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) study on car transport, commissioned by Greenpeace Belgium, concluded that to achieve a 66% likelihood of keeping global warming below 1.5°C, diesel and petrol cars must be rapidly phased out in Europe with an end to new sales by 2025.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
"We can't replace our lungs"
Air pollution is another target for environmental activists. Air pollution has reached dangerous levels in many cities across the world and there is mounting research on the damage it inflicts on humans and fetuses.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
An end to SUVs
According to the Greenpeace "Crashing the Climate" report into the effect of the car industry on the environment, SUVs are particularly damaging to the environment. Due to their higher weight and less aerodynamic body, SUVs produce significantly higher CO2 emissions than other cars.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Down with auto-cracy
Many protesters and environment groups think that governments have been too slow to enact meaningful change to ensure the Earth's temperature doesn't rise above the 2°C benchmark set by climate scientists.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
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After getting into the water, people have complained of sore throats, worsening eyesight, dry eyes, nausea, physical weakness, vomiting and fever, the environmental organization said.
Tourists recently posted videos on social media of dead octopuses and other sea life washed up on the beach. It is not immediately clear that the videos showed current environmental damage from the scene.
But Greenpeace said: "the fact that dead animals can be found along the entire coastline confirms the seriousness of the situation."
Local authorities said on Saturday the animals had washed up because of a storm.