Once again, the world is shocked with an unusual natural scene whose picture spread viral on the social media platforms. This time the “Daldykan River” in Russia is the star of the scene, as CNN reported that its color changed from blue-green into bloodlike red on Tuesday, September 6th. And just like every time we account an incident that unleashes environmental pollution and makes it visible to us, contradicting explanations and suggestions arise. What is even more frustrating is the fact that some people are linking this phenomenon with religious beliefs and Biblical prophecy. And although some people are saying that iron ore which occurs naturally in the ground is the possible cause of this color change, Russia’s environmental ministry is considering the “Norilsk Nickel” factory which is located near the, currently, red river as the most probable cause as a result of a break in a pipe. A mining expert clarifies the issue by saying that a leak from the broken pipe of the factory, results in dumping industrial wastes into the river water, and once a certain chemical present in such wastes mixes with water, it causes the red coloration of water. And in a local Russian newspaper, it was mentioned by residents that they have seen this before, therefore they are not surprised.
And as expected the “Norilsk Nickel” factory, which is the largest when it comes to the production of Nickel and Palladium, will not easily admit that it is the most probable cause behind the discoloration of the river. Yet, what is unexpected is what the company told the RIA Novosti state news agency, “The color of the river today does not differ from its usual condition.” Furthermore, the factory managers are not hesitating to give unaccepted excuses and asking locals to ignore the health hazards of such a catastrophe, by saying that the river water is not hooked up with the area’s water supply.
Yekaterina Basalyga, a Norilsk resident, who posted a picture of the river on her Instagram account, mentioned that what is even scarier than seeing the river turn red, is seeing people gathering mushrooms and berries from the red river’s surrounding. And on this issue, Ronald Cohen who is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Colorado School of Mines mentioned that such water must not be used for drinking or irrigation, and it is unsuitable for the livestock to drink either. Cohen added that authorities are unable to take measures in order to clean the river, all what they can do is wait for it to clear out on its own, until metals dilute enough and water is safe again, which could take hours or days, depending on the concentrations of metals.
