What's really happening in Armyansk? What is the cause of the environmental disaster? Who is threatened by toxic emissions from Crimean chemical enterprises? And will Armyansk be suitable for human life? We are talking about this in the studio of Radio Crimea. Realities with the head of the Association of the Hospitality Industry of Ukraine, ex-Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Alexander Liev.
Old residents of the city will not remember what happened now
- As a former resident of Armyansk, I know that in the “chemical” region (Armensk - Krasnoperekopsk - northern Crimea) several tens of thousands of people work at chemical plants. I myself was a director and one of the shareholders of Brom OJSC in Krasnoperekopsk, and we were accustomed to all sorts of emissions there. And Armyansk is located in such a way that, thanks to the wind rose, quite frequent emissions from the sulfuric acid workshop of the Titan plant reached the villages of Krasny Chaban (now the village of Preobrazhenka, Kherson region, - KR) or the village of Perekop, but usually did not reach the city itself. The old residents of the city will not remember what happened now. I know this acid accumulator well, and I remember that in the heat it was regularly irrigated, special curtains were created, I was surprised: does this really help? But work was carried out to dilute the acid content. Now I have called several dozen people and asked questions, and the plant’s technologists say that the disaster is connected specifically with the acid storage tank and that it has not been diluted with water for a long time, as was the case before.
The consequences are noticeable for people physiologically - on the mucous membranes and skin - within a radius of 25 kilometers. It is also clear from the plants that something unusual is happening. Visible on cars and metal objects. For example, the metal fence of my grandmother, who lives there, turned bright red overnight. We will have to study for a long time what other consequences there will be. And how else will the fauna react? There are many rare steppe animals and insects there. In general, this is a big problem.
– The first reports of releases of toxic substances appeared on the night of August 23-24. And the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine took place only on September 6. Then a message came that the checkpoints would be closed. 37 employees of the Ukrainian border control service applied for medical care. Isn’t there really special equipment in such areas that should respond to emissions? And why did it take the Ukrainian authorities two weeks to respond?
Our government appreciated that this topic attracted the attention of Ukrainians, and this forced us to convene a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council and, in general, show our reaction
– The Titan plant is located in Armyansk not because there are raw materials for it or sales of its products. The plant has previously encountered various conflicts due to the fact that it is located at the junction of two administrative regions of Ukraine – the Kherson region and Crimea. There were even discussions on changing administrative borders. And it is certainly not suitable for working in conditions where Crimea is a gray zone and the plant is on the collision line. It is obvious that there is a hushing up of the problem, and the old Soviet and Putin theme of showing that “everything is fine with us.” The reaction of the Ukrainian authorities also smacks of politics and the upcoming elections. And thank God that in Ukraine public opinion dictates to the authorities, and not, as in Russia, the authorities dictate to society. Our government appreciated that this topic attracted the attention of Ukrainians, and this forced us to convene a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council and, in general, show our reaction.
– Russia had more leverage on the situation, monitoring tools, but they said that everything was fine, that no one was to blame for exceeding the concentration of the substance, nevertheless, after two weeks they decided to take the children out. Can this be considered a repeat of what happened with Chernobyl in 1986?
Any foreign commission can prohibit the operation of factories because it is a powder keg
– It is difficult to comment on everything that the occupiers are doing there. This is most often the execution of the Kremlin’s directives, and the Kremlin doesn’t dig particularly deep. Our human rights group “February 20” helped Crimeans a lot, and we raised the issue with the Ukrainian government about necessary actions. Both the Titan plant and the Crimean Soda Plant are heavily dependent on the Ukrainian energy system and on the resource base, including water, and the North Crimean Canal. They are part of the ecosystem of the Black Sea and Azov regions. These factories, as I said, are unable to operate in a gray zone. Firtash earns money by creating risks for people in the southern part of the Kherson region and the northern part of Crimea - this is about 500 thousand people. We need to talk about this and attract foreign experts. I think that any foreign commission can ban the operation of factories, because it is a powder keg.
– What should Kyiv do? Demand the closure of Titan or, as some suggest, hide our pride and let the water flow so that this plant can come to life?
The monitoring mission has every reason to visit there, because the situation concerns two seas of international importance - the Black and Azov
– We need a monitoring mission. She has every reason to visit there, if only because the situation concerns two seas of international importance - the Black and Azov. In addition, I am an adherent of the idea that we must maintain ties with Crimea and, through these ties, keep Crimea in the orbit of Ukraine. Those who do not believe in the return of Crimea are in favor of cutting off the ends, digging a ditch, building a wall - and “so that you all die there.” I consider such people to be more separatists than those who were in Crimea. I believe in the return of Crimea. If one day circumstances developed in such a way that it became possible to capture him, they can also develop in such a way that we can return him.
We must be ready to take advantage of such circumstances. Maintaining ties with Crimea involves supplying both water and electricity. I consider the blackout of Crimea to be absolutely ignorant. What are these strange methods in a modern country that strives for Europe? What prevented the president Poroshenko make the following statement: “Dear Crimeans. Today our electricity consumption in Crimea is 100 units. Of these, 40 units are consumed by the population, and 60 units are consumed by Firtash and Russian military complexes. WITH today We supply you with only 40% of electricity per day. And when your electricity is turned off, know that it is not we who turn it off, your fellow citizens who understand that you are occupied, but your own occupiers who turn you off”? It was possible to supply food. Ukrainian products are of higher quality, cheaper, tastier and more familiar to Crimeans. We could repackage it, label it, even deliver it in yellow-blue packaging. Then Crimeans would have a referendum every day, when they must decide whether to buy high-quality Ukrainian yogurt or disgusting Russian yogurt that costs twice as much.
Evacuation of children from Armyansk. September 4, 2018– The Russian information field is controlled by the Kremlin, and not everyone in Russia knows about the scale of the environmental disaster in Armyansk. But sooner or later this information will leak out. Will the influx of Russians on the peninsula become less?
– Crimea received 1 million 200 tourists from Russia in peacetime. In my opinion, these were people who really loved Crimea. For me, the image of such a tourist, whom we have always been waiting for in Crimea, is Yuri Shevchuk, lead singer of the group "DDT". He said that going to Crimea is not tourism, but a pilgrimage. After the occupation, such Russians stopped going there. The flow was replenished by people who came not of their own free will, but on vouchers that were given to them free of charge, and there are about 700 thousand such people every year.
Such a tourist ecological problems they will not stop in Crimea. But the increase in tourist flow that I spoke about Aksenov, it’s hardly worth predicting – both because of the environmental disaster and because military equipment is constantly moving in Crimea. Adequate, normal Russians now do not see Crimea as a safe recreation area. They don’t see it as effective for investment. Therefore, there are no systemic investments. There are several companies that took something away for free, painted it and whitewashed it - but this is not an investment. Even interesting, tasty projects are not financed. That is, Russian money does not go to Crimea.
MOSCOW, September 5— RIA Novosti, Irina Khaletskaya. More than a week ago, residents of the Crimean city of Armyansk discovered that all metal objects were covered with sticky rust. People began to complain about sore throats and bad feeling, social networks were filled with photographs of fallen yellow leaves on the street, children in respirators with a red rash on their faces.
The townspeople are sure that the reason is emissions from the Crimean Titan plant. Concentration harmful substances in the air in the north of the peninsula exceeded the norm. On Tuesday, September 4, the head of the republic Sergei Aksenov, local and federal officials arrived here. It was decided to take all the children to sanatoriums. The plant was shut down for two weeks, although they denied involvement in the incident. There is one more problem: Crimean Titan is a city-forming enterprise, so it is impossible to simply close production and leave thousands of people without work.
Rash, burns, metal in the throat
Residents of Armyansk are forced to stay at home with their windows closed even on hot days in order to acrid smell did not enter the premises. They go outside only when necessary, and wear a respirator and only for a short time, otherwise dizziness and nausea will begin. Elena Tikhaya told a RIA Novosti correspondent that the situation in the city worsened sharply on August 23: a release of harmful substances occurred at the local Crimean Titan plant, after which the surrounding area became like an exclusion zone.
“It’s been impossible to breathe since six in the morning. Today we talked to a young woman in a store; her child has a terrible allergy - spots on the body, a cough. When she takes a strong antihistamine, everything goes away. The windows and doors of the house are closed, but the hood and stove are covered with a strange coating. Everything metal on the balcony was rusty. My child had a condition similar to poisoning: fever, nausea, weakness, headache. They drank Polysorb, but nothing helped. It only became easier when we left the city,” says Elena.
Similar stories are published on social networks, there are photos of rashes, rust, and an oily coating on the highway, which is dangerous to drive on. There are many visitors to medical institutions. There are no longer enough masks and respirators in pharmacies. The Ministry of Health of the Republic officially confirms: an increase in the number of visits to Armyansk clinics has been recorded, diagnoses are mainly allergic.
Local resident Irina Kuzmina told RIA Novosti that for several days on the way to school, her son has been finding corpses of cats: “There are too many of them, so this is unlikely to be a coincidence. Perhaps they died due to poisoning.”
"Everything is like oil"
At the end of August, a group of specialists from the Ministry of Ecology of the republic was sent to Armyansk, regional administration Rospotrebnadzor and the prosecutor's office under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimean government Igor Mikhailichenko. Environmentalists and officials said that nothing threatens the health of the townspeople, and the problem is being solved. Days passed, but people continued to complain about their deteriorating health. As Elena Tikhaya clarifies, city authorities until recently claimed that emissions were within normal limits.
“They watered the roads early in the morning, but when the asphalt warmed up a little in the sun, evaporation began. And there was nothing to breathe. People took their children out of the city to relatives whenever possible, kindergartens have been half empty for a week now. Children are not taken outside, groups are closed. It is impossible to stay at home for more than a day , symptoms appear again. All surfaces seem to be covered in oil. Where to go? I don’t know,” the interlocutor laments.
RIA Novosti phoned specialists from the republican department of Rospotrebnadzor. At the reception of the head of the department they explained to us that all information is published on the official website. IN last entry dated September 1, it is said that the concentration of harmful substances in the city is normal. Rospotrebnadzor was unable to provide an up-to-date comment, since “there is no press service, all specialists are on the road in Armyansk.”
"Don't panic"
After numerous complaints on social networks and publications in local media, a whole troop of officials arrived in Armyansk. The head of the region, Sergei Aksenov, met with residents, spoke with the head of the federal Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, and representatives of other control departments. On his Facebook page, he stated that on September 4, the concentration of sulfur dioxide exceeded the norm for the first time, however, “there are no grounds for introducing an emergency regime, there is no reason for panic, nothing threatens the life and health of citizens.”
Despite the refusal to introduce a state of emergency, the head of the republic ordered the prompt removal of all children from the city, as well as two nearby villages, and announced a two-week holiday. This was done, according to Aksenov, in order to “develop all the algorithms of action.” An operational headquarters has been created to coordinate the efforts of departments. This, in particular, concerns the issue of sending children to sanatoriums.
“Everything will be at the expense of the state,” the head promised. It is already known that the sanatoriums that are part of the state enterprise “Solnechnaya Tavrika” are ready to accept three thousand children and accompanying persons from Armyansk. They will be resettled in three regions of the republic. Entrepreneurs also got involved: the chairman of the Association of Small Hotels of Crimea, Natalya Parkhomenko, reported on Facebook that, if necessary, private owners will help with accommodation.
"Titanium"
The Crimean Titan plant is located about five kilometers from the city, not far from the border with Ukraine. This is one of the largest enterprises in Eastern Europe, producing titanium dioxide, which is used for the manufacture of paints and varnishes, plastics, rubber, rubber, and paper. Red iron oxide pigment, sulfuric acid, iron sulfate and other dangerous substances are also produced here.
Today, the plant is not just the only large, but a city-forming enterprise in Armyansk. Almost five thousand people work in its workshops, which is half of the city’s employed residents. In 2014, Titan began to repurpose and change the raw material supply scheme, which affected revenue and salary levels. Plant employee Andrei Osintsev (last name changed at his request) says: “Salaries are constantly delayed, not critically, but for a few days, a week for sure. Employees who cannot leave the city are actually in a trap, since it is unrealistic to find an alternative source of income. "The salaries are not that high, but at least it's something. And the management of Crimean Titan knows that if the plant is closed, about five thousand people will lose their jobs, which means the situation in the city will be difficult. This gives them carte blanche."
According to Andrey and other employees with whom we were able to communicate, a dry acid settling tank is to blame for the emissions. “Previously, it was fed from the North Crimean Canal, but now this source is closed. The concentration of sulfur dioxide is exceeded. When the wind blows, you can smell hydrochloric acid,” said plant worker Alexey Prosviryakov (last name changed).
As Alexey says, today his main headache is not work, but the health of his children; due to the release of chemicals, small residents of Armyansk complain of nausea, dizziness, burns and burning in their legs.
Now "Crimean Titan" is in the bankruptcy stage according to VTB. The debt to the bank amounts to 2.5 billion rubles. In 2017, Aksenov stated that the regional government would support the enterprise: the plant’s management is only required to maintain the average level of wages and jobs. At the same time, the head of the region ordered the formation of a “road map” for repaying the enterprise’s debt for gas.
It was not possible to get a prompt comment from representatives of the plant at the time of publication; no one answered calls at the reception. The official website of "Titan" is under reconstruction and does not work.
What's next?
Although the plant has not officially admitted its responsibility for the emissions (according to the administration, the so-called sticky residue contains chlorine ion, which is not used in Titan technology), the head of the republic ordered the plant to be stopped for two weeks. According to Aksenov, the company's management promised that all employees would receive their full monthly salary.
Now the Crimean government is urgently looking for a source of water to fill the sump. Sergei Aksenov said that the authorities are considering two options for combating harmful emissions: “The first is to determine the composition of water from Karkinitsky Bay for the content of chlorides, what kind of interaction there may be with the acidic environment that has accumulated, so as not to worsen the situation. If the composition of the water is suitable for solving this situation, fill it in."
He clarified that the acid reservoir can only be filled fresh water. This will take up to five months - the reservoir is designed for 30 million cubic meters. The second option, Aksenov added, is treatment of the sump special compounds: “Slaked lime or something else. What substances are needed, chemists will tell you within three days.”
He called the situation non-standard and said that no one intends to hide real information from the population.
The President of the Russian Union of Chemists (RSH), former director of Crimean Titan, Viktor Ivanov, has his own vision of the problem. He explained to RIA Novosti that in the current situation the plant is not really to blame: there were no failures in the operation of the enterprise or the technological process, so the administration denies its involvement in the emissions quite reasonably.
“But upon detailed analysis, it turned out that in the last four years, Titan stopped the production of mineral fertilizers, for which they used, in particular, sulfuric acid. As a result, more acidic water was poured into the storage tanks. Due to the abnormal heat, the water from the settling tanks evaporated, the concentration sulfuric acid increased. There was a reaction of sodium chlorine from the Sivash brine (Lake Sivash - Ed.) with acid - chlorine and soda were formed. The chlorine began to evaporate, and the wind carried it to Armyansk. It was impossible to predict," Ivanov said.
According to him, nothing can be done other than increasing the water level in the reservoir. The President of the Russian Union of Artists suggested that for this it would be possible to stretch a pipe from the Karkinitsky Bay through the Perekop (Turkish) shaft, which is about five kilometers.
“If the North Crimean Canal had been opened now, nothing would have happened. But now we will have to build a bypass. There are no other options. But we cannot close the plant, because this is the only enterprise in Russia where titanium dioxide is produced. We consume more than seventy thousand tons per year. If we stop Titan, we will have to purchase from other countries," the expert concluded.
P. S.: As it became known on the evening of September 4, the department of the Investigative Committee for Crimea opened a criminal case on the fact of violation of the rules for handling environmental hazardous substances after the release of fumes from the plant into the atmosphere.
© Ruptly "Children have difficulty breathing." The situation around emissions from a chemical plant in Armyansk
It is known from various sources and from the residents themselves on social networks that there was a release of harmful substances from the Crimean Titan chemical plant. The grass has withered, the drinking water is polluted, the leaves have fallen from the trees, animals and birds are dying, children have been evacuated...
The information from local authorities is basic: “there is no danger”, “everything is under control”, “air pollution is at an acceptable level”, “there are no health hazards”... The Crimean authorities are doing everything possible to reassure the public.
The Crimean Titan plant in Armyansk is located in the north of Crimea. Chemical plant is the largest producer of titanium dioxide white pigment in Eastern Europe.
Accident at a chemical plant in Crimea and its cause
Meanwhile, just today, September 17, the central media published a message on the Internet that the whole point is the destruction of the dam on the part of Ukraine.
The director of the Crimean Titan chemical plant, A. Akulov, officially admitted that part of the dam was destroyed on the Ukrainian side. Apparently, this was the cause of the accident, because the dam separates the production acid reservoir from Lake Sivash.
The fact is that the dam is located on both sides of the border, half on the Russian and half on the Ukrainian side.
The destruction was recorded only on September 14,” said director Akulov. Although the ejection itself took place on August 23 and 24, according to other sources, on August 28! However, they harness for a long time!
The situation is reminiscent of the Chernobyl accident, when the authorities knew about the disaster, and people, under the radiation fallout, celebrated the first of May - Workers' Solidarity Day!
But even now, the director responsible for the safety of hazardous production did not really explain the situation. According to the official statement of the same Akulov, scientists are looking into the causes of the accident. To the Moscow Institute named after. Mendeleev, sent fresh air and soil samples. I wonder why don’t scientists come to Crimea? Probably dangerous...
When did the accident at the chemical plant in Crimea begin?
Let us remind you that on the night of August 23-24, an unknown substance spilled into the atmosphere, filling the landscape with smog and a pungent odor. This came from social networks, it's full of reports of houses and cars covered in plaque and rust, and unknown smoke.
A few days later, some residents of Crimea began to notice that the birds from Armyansk had disappeared. Some people have found dead birds in their gardens. In the gardens fruit trees began to dry out, and people began to experience eye and throat discomfort.
Russian authorities in Crimea and Russian media ignored this event for several days. Sergey Aksenov, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea at his Facebook page reported that there are unknown emissions into the atmosphere and that’s all.
On the same day, the Special Representative for environment, ecology and transport of Russian President Vladimir Putin Sergei Ivanov. Upon his arrival, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, Aksenov, admitted that the Crimean Titan plant may be responsible for the emissions. Although Aksenov initially claimed that the emissions did not pose a health hazard, he later called the emissions harmful.
When many people began to experience breathing problems and panic, Crimean media began reporting that the emissions did not pose a health hazard. Countless air quality controls provided the same predictable result: there was no increase in harmful concentrations above the permissible level in the atmosphere.
From August 28 to September 4, Crimean authorities and Russian media completely ignored the mysterious emissions. Only on September 4 did the authorities begin to evacuate children from Armyansk. Aksenov stressed that this is not an evacuation, but a holiday, and assured the residents of Armyansk that their health is not at risk and that there is no reason to take emergency measures. Concentrations of air pollutants in northern Crimea “again and again exceed permissible standards.”
The Crimean Titan plant was closed for two weeks. The source of the harmful emissions was identified as acid evaporation from the plant.
The exhaust cloud reached the Kherson region, so, according to at least Ukrainian authorities claim. The State Border Guard of Ukraine reported an increase in pollution along the administrative border with Crimea and temporarily closed the border on September 6.
Ukrainian authorities identified the polluting emissions as sulfur dioxide, an air pollutant that has significant impacts on human health and is a precursor to acid rain. They found that sulfur dioxide levels were six times higher than normal.
Biologist of Odessa national university Vladislav Balynsky said that sulfur dioxide is a carcinogen that can seriously damage Airways, burn the respiratory membranes.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova informed the UN, OSCE, World Health Organization and the Red Cross about harmful emissions in Armyansk.
The Crimean Titan plant is a chemical plant that began operating in the north of Crimea in 1971. Since the early 2000s, the plant has been part of DF Group, Dmitry Firtash's giant holding company. The plant produces chemicals used in the production of paints, rubber and plastics.
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The release of toxic substances in the north of the republic could have occurred due to the fault of the Russian military. This version is circulating in Ukrainian media mass media, who do their best to inflate the scale of the incident. Meanwhile, the authorities of the peninsula remain calm: the circumstances of the incident are being investigated, and nothing threatens the lives and health of people.
“This is something unprecedented. The release definitely came from Titan (the Crimean Titan chemical plant on the outskirts of the city of Armyansk). Because in the village of Perekop, which is located between Titan and Armyansk, all the vegetation was burned out,” said the former Chairman of the Union of Entrepreneurs of Armyansk Yuri Solomakha. His words are quoted by the Observer publication.
“The most interesting thing is that there are no substances on Titan that could lead to such a result. One of the versions, as a former military man, I can say that it is very similar to the heptyl component (a component of high-boiling rocket fuel). It is quite possible that this is military. But the release came from Titan. This is unambiguous,” the businessman added.
According to local ecologist Margarita Litvinenko, the Crimean Titan plant leaked sulfuric acid or its compounds during one of the production phases. “This substance reacted quickly: rust and an oily coating appeared, and sulfuric acid is an oily substance,” she explained.
Ukrainian media report that residents of Armyansk have been complaining of deterioration in health, dizziness, sore throat, weakness, and skin rashes in recent days. There is an acidic smell in the air. Many even thought about leaving the city. People believe that something was sprayed into the air Chemical substance. They publish photographs of yellowish-white plaque on the walls and roofs of houses, tree leaves and even inside homes.
Apparently, the topic of the chemical attack on Crimea will now seriously and for a long time fall into the spotlight of the Ukrainian press. Previously, with the same pleasure, they wrote that the Crimean Bridge would not be built, and when it was finally built, that it was about to collapse. This did not happen, so now journalists have a new reason for “exposures”.
The authorities of the peninsula reassure citizens, saying that the release of harmful substances does not pose any threat. According to the head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, supervisory authorities will inspect three enterprises in the north of the peninsula to determine which of them had a leak.
“In fact, the situation there is not good, in my opinion. This is noted by all services. Smog, a certain opacity of the air, some precipitation... At first there was information that it might be the Crimean Titan. But according to the latest information, more inspectors are inclined to the fact that this is the "Crimean Soda Plant" or "Bromine". I don’t want to be unfounded and misinform people, since the reputation of the enterprises could be damaged. The heads of all enterprises deny that this happened to them," the radio station reports the words of the official "Sputnik in Crimea".
The regional office of Rospotrebnadzor stated that studies of air samples did not show any deviations from the norms. In particular, the content in the atmosphere of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfuric acid, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide does not exceed the established maximum permissible concentrations, Sevastopol Media reports.
On the night of August 23-24, an as yet unknown substance was released in Armyansk. Residents began to publish photographs on social networks of a specific rust coating on metal objects in their homes and on the street. It was initially assumed that the Crimean Titan plant was responsible for this. It began operating in 1971, and in the early 2000s came under the control of the Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash's company Groop DF. The main direction of the enterprise is the production of titanium dioxide - a substance that is used in the paint and varnish, rubber industries, in the production of plastics and in many other industries.
text Ksenia Zolotareva. Ekaterina Levitskaya, Nicole Jamal
The operation of the enterprise was suspended for two weeks. Sulfur compounds entered the atmosphere due to a sharp change in air temperature
The work of the Crimean Titan plant has been suspended for two weeks, the head of Crimea announced thisSergey Aksyonov. “This morning I spoke with the head of Rosportrebnadzor of the Russian Federation Anna Popova<…>working groups from all control departments arrived. Based on the results of the meeting, I, in agreement with the management of the Titan plant, decided to suspend production at the plant for two weeks. The company's management supported this initiative and promised that all employees would receive a month's pay. wages in full,” says his official statement on the website of the republican administration.
On August 23, in Armyansk, where the plant is located, a bad smell, an oily coating has formed on exposed surfaces yellow tint. Local residents began to complain of a sore throat and irritation of the nasal mucosa. According to the Crimean administration, daily control measurements of air, water and soil began at the same time, which did not show excess concentrations of harmful substances. The maximum permissible concentration of sulfur dioxide exceeded the norm for the first time this night, due to a sharp diurnal temperature drop. According to preliminary data, the cause of the release was evaporation from the factory acid storage tank.
Due to chemical contamination of the territory, the republican authorities decided to introduce two-week holidays in educational institutions Armyansk and neighboring villages: Perekop, Pyatikhatka and Filatovka. According to the Minister of Education, Science and Youth of Crimea Natalia Goncharova, schoolchildren from grades 2 to 11, accompanied class teachers and medical workers will be sent to children's camps in Yevpatoria, Bakhchisarai and Saki regions. “If children have brothers or sisters in other classes, they will not be separated - they will end up in the same boarding house or health Camp. If the teacher has a child studying at another school, they will also be sent together. Children preschool age and first-graders will be sent to sanatoriums with their mothers,” the press service of the republican administration quotes the minister. In total, almost four thousand children will be sent to camps and sanatoriums.
According to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Igor Mikhailichenko, in Armyansk laboratory samples of water, soil and air were taken again. “Today, Rospotrebnadzor specialists re-took laboratory samples of water, soil and air, they were sent to the Moscow laboratory, and in the evening we are expecting research results,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
The Crimean Titan plant is a branch of a large Russian manufacturer of titanium dioxide - Titanium Investments LLC. According to IAS Seldon Basis, the company was registered in Moscow in 2014. The director of the company is Alexander Emelin. The main activity is the production of pigments and dyes. At the end of 2016, the company's revenue amounted to 7.5 billion rubles, loss - 231 million rubles. Titanium Investments LLC is 100% owned by Cyprus-based Letan Investment Limited LLC. According to open sources, every fourth resident of Armyansk works at the Crimean Titan plant.
At a meeting of the operational headquarters in Armyansk, possible technical solutions were developed to eliminate harmful fumes from the plant’s acid storage tank. One option is to fill the tank with water. “We need to determine how this water will interact with the acidic environment so as not to worsen the situation. If the examination is positive, then this water should be used. However, this may take a long time,” Sergei Aksyonov commented on the decision. Second possible way- treatment of the acid accumulator with special chemical compounds. The final decision will be made within three days.
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