Last month, hundreds of dead seals, octopuses, sea urchins and other sea creatures washed ashore the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East region in what experts say is Russia’s latest “ecological disaster,” reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Surfers were the first to raise a red flag after about 20 people reported symptoms such as stinging eyes, nausea and fevers during a surfing camp, reports Mary Ilyushina for CNN. Soon after, in early September, the peninsula’s pristine, sparkling blue water developed a thick, yellow-gray sludge floating at its surface and released a putrid smell. Just a few days later, the bodies of dead marine life began to pile up on the beach.

Kamchatka’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology originally dismissed the reports, saying that the color and smell of the water were normal. But with mounting pressure from scientists and environmental activists, Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation to identify any possible violations in the use of such hazardous substances. Members of Greenpeace Russia and local scientists are also working on the ground to understand the severity and cause of this ecologically devastating disaster.

“On the shore, we did not find any large dead sea animals or birds,” says scientist Ivan Usatov in a report translated by CNN. “However, when diving, we found that there is a mass death of at depths from ten to 15 meters—95 percent are dead. Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers.”

On Twitter, Greenpeace Russia announced that it detected petroleum levels four times higher than normal and phenol (a substance used in antiseptics and disinfectants) levels 2.5 times higher. Theories surrounding the source of the pollution are still swirling.

Russian biologist Vladimir Burkanov suspects that the pollutants came from old rocket fuel stored at nearby military bases. The tanks must have leaked, he says in a statement, and a heavy rainstorm flushed the toxins into the ocean, reports Dharna Noor for Gizmodo. On the other hand, local media outlets theorize that a military drill at one of the nearby bases must have gone wrong or an oil tanker leaked, which the Defense Ministry dismissed, reports CNN. Greenpeace Russia speculates that the source was a nearby toxic waste dump, especially since Kamchatka officials announced that a storage facility housing over 100 tons of toxic substances was breached.

Local officials announced that they will be continuing their investigations, but they haven’t identified any culprits yet. They are also considering that the toxins could have occurred naturally, such as from volcanic activity or lethal algal blooms.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1312076718203691008

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-dead-animals-wash-ashore-russian-beach-after-reports-mysterious-toxic-sludge-180976052/

>> Surfers were the first to raise a red flag …

Respect. Bloody cold place to be surfing.

party_pants said:

>> Surfers were the first to raise a red flag …

Respect. Bloody cold place to be surfing.

They even swim with big sharks. Crazy people.

Nothing to see here comrade, move along, go about your business

PermeateFree said:

Last month, hundreds of dead seals, octopuses, sea urchins and other sea creatures washed ashore the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East region in what experts say is Russia’s latest “ecological disaster,” reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Surfers were the first to raise a red flag after about 20 people reported symptoms such as stinging eyes, nausea and fevers during a surfing camp, reports Mary Ilyushina for CNN. Soon after, in early September, the peninsula’s pristine, sparkling blue water developed a thick, yellow-gray sludge floating at its surface and released a putrid smell. Just a few days later, the bodies of dead marine life began to pile up on the beach.

Kamchatka’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology originally dismissed the reports, saying that the color and smell of the water were normal. But with mounting pressure from scientists and environmental activists, Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation to identify any possible violations in the use of such hazardous substances. Members of Greenpeace Russia and local scientists are also working on the ground to understand the severity and cause of this ecologically devastating disaster.

“On the shore, we did not find any large dead sea animals or birds,” says scientist Ivan Usatov in a report translated by CNN. “However, when diving, we found that there is a mass death of at depths from ten to 15 meters—95 percent are dead. Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers.”

On Twitter, Greenpeace Russia announced that it detected petroleum levels four times higher than normal and phenol (a substance used in antiseptics and disinfectants) levels 2.5 times higher. Theories surrounding the source of the pollution are still swirling.

Russian biologist Vladimir Burkanov suspects that the pollutants came from old rocket fuel stored at nearby military bases. The tanks must have leaked, he says in a statement, and a heavy rainstorm flushed the toxins into the ocean, reports Dharna Noor for Gizmodo. On the other hand, local media outlets theorize that a military drill at one of the nearby bases must have gone wrong or an oil tanker leaked, which the Defense Ministry dismissed, reports CNN. Greenpeace Russia speculates that the source was a nearby toxic waste dump, especially since Kamchatka officials announced that a storage facility housing over 100 tons of toxic substances was breached.

Local officials announced that they will be continuing their investigations, but they haven’t identified any culprits yet. They are also considering that the toxins could have occurred naturally, such as from volcanic activity or lethal algal blooms.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1312076718203691008

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-dead-animals-wash-ashore-russian-beach-after-reports-mysterious-toxic-sludge-180976052/

> Hundreds of Dead Animals Wash Ashore

That’s not the news. The news is that hundreds of thousands of dead animals have been found underwater.

> detected petroleum levels four times higher than normal and phenol (a substance used in antiseptics and disinfectants) levels 2.5 times higher.

That’s nothing. Four times zero is still zero. Ditto 2.5 times higher.

> Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers. On the shore, we did not find any large dead sea animals or birds, but we found that there is a mass death of at depths from ten to 15 meters – 95 percent are dead. Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers.

With something that huge – time to dust off the satellite images and see what they showed. Those symptoms, nothing much on the shoreline but death at depth is typical of hypoxia, such as from algal blooms. It would also be typical of hypoxia from a massive petroleum spill but Greenpeace has already ruled that out and there’s no mention of shoreline petroleum. The symptoms are not typical of poisoning such a heavy metal or industrial organic poison release.

So it probably is natural, but more water sampling and studying of satellite images is definitely required to be sure. And a cause must be found.

Now let me do the proper thing and go back to original sources. In Russian of course. Searching backwards in time.

7 Oct 2020 12:30 pm
The problem was not caused by a chemical leak at either of two Russian military testing sites in Russia’s Kamchatka Territory. A detailed investigation of the sites found no signs of leakage.

7 Oct 2020 11:30 am
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case over the pollution incident off the coast of the far-eastern Kamchatka peninsula after traces of industrial oil were found in the water samples from the affected area.

5 Oct 2020 8 am
No Harmful Substances were Detected in River Flowing Into Polluted Area. The maximum permissible concentration of harmful substances at the mouth of Nalychevo River, which flows into the now polluted water area of the Pacific Ocean in Russia’s Kamchatka, is not exceeded.

5 Oct 2020 6 am
The ecological situation on the Khalaktyrsky Beach of Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula is improving after the mass stranding of sea animals and a hike in oil products in the seawater were reported.

3 Oct 2020 4:45 pm
Russian investigators have begun a probe into potential seawater pollution in Kamchatka after reports that a large number of sea animals washed up dead on the shore.

3 Oct 2020 1 pm
Russia’s Pacific Fleet is not involved in the contamination in the waters off the Kamchatka peninsula. Quite apart from no spillage, oils used by the fleet contain no phenol. Earlier in the week, Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said that local surfers reported that the water at the beach had changed colour and caused a skin rash and swollen eyes. Local experts detected a 3.6-times increase in petroleum products and a two-fold increase in phenol. Locals have been posting photos and videos of the beach covered with dead marine life.

From 4 Oct 2020.
The Governor of Kamchatka, Vladimir Solodov, received the first news about the pollution on September 29, 2020.

I haven’t found any articles from before 3 Oct. Primarily because Google Translate keeps refusing to translate web pages out of Russian.

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

Last month, hundreds of dead seals, octopuses, sea urchins and other sea creatures washed ashore the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East region in what experts say is Russia’s latest “ecological disaster,” reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Surfers were the first to raise a red flag after about 20 people reported symptoms such as stinging eyes, nausea and fevers during a surfing camp, reports Mary Ilyushina for CNN. Soon after, in early September, the peninsula’s pristine, sparkling blue water developed a thick, yellow-gray sludge floating at its surface and released a putrid smell. Just a few days later, the bodies of dead marine life began to pile up on the beach.

Kamchatka’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology originally dismissed the reports, saying that the color and smell of the water were normal. But with mounting pressure from scientists and environmental activists, Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation to identify any possible violations in the use of such hazardous substances. Members of Greenpeace Russia and local scientists are also working on the ground to understand the severity and cause of this ecologically devastating disaster.

“On the shore, we did not find any large dead sea animals or birds,” says scientist Ivan Usatov in a report translated by CNN. “However, when diving, we found that there is a mass death of at depths from ten to 15 meters—95 percent are dead. Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers.”

On Twitter, Greenpeace Russia announced that it detected petroleum levels four times higher than normal and phenol (a substance used in antiseptics and disinfectants) levels 2.5 times higher. Theories surrounding the source of the pollution are still swirling.

Russian biologist Vladimir Burkanov suspects that the pollutants came from old rocket fuel stored at nearby military bases. The tanks must have leaked, he says in a statement, and a heavy rainstorm flushed the toxins into the ocean, reports Dharna Noor for Gizmodo. On the other hand, local media outlets theorize that a military drill at one of the nearby bases must have gone wrong or an oil tanker leaked, which the Defense Ministry dismissed, reports CNN. Greenpeace Russia speculates that the source was a nearby toxic waste dump, especially since Kamchatka officials announced that a storage facility housing over 100 tons of toxic substances was breached.

Local officials announced that they will be continuing their investigations, but they haven’t identified any culprits yet. They are also considering that the toxins could have occurred naturally, such as from volcanic activity or lethal algal blooms.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1312076718203691008

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-dead-animals-wash-ashore-russian-beach-after-reports-mysterious-toxic-sludge-180976052/

> Hundreds of Dead Animals Wash Ashore

That’s not the news. The news is that hundreds of thousands of dead animals have been found underwater.

> detected petroleum levels four times higher than normal and phenol (a substance used in antiseptics and disinfectants) levels 2.5 times higher.

That’s nothing. Four times zero is still zero. Ditto 2.5 times higher.

> Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers. On the shore, we did not find any large dead sea animals or birds, but we found that there is a mass death of at depths from ten to 15 meters – 95 percent are dead. Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers.

With something that huge – time to dust off the satellite images and see what they showed. Those symptoms, nothing much on the shoreline but death at depth is typical of hypoxia, such as from algal blooms. It would also be typical of hypoxia from a massive petroleum spill but Greenpeace has already ruled that out and there’s no mention of shoreline petroleum. The symptoms are not typical of poisoning such a heavy metal or industrial organic poison release.

So it probably is natural, but more water sampling and studying of satellite images is definitely required to be sure. And a cause must be found.

Now let me do the proper thing and go back to original sources. In Russian of course. Searching backwards in time.

7 Oct 2020 12:30 pm
The problem was not caused by a chemical leak at either of two Russian military testing sites in Russia’s Kamchatka Territory. A detailed investigation of the sites found no signs of leakage.

7 Oct 2020 11:30 am
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case over the pollution incident off the coast of the far-eastern Kamchatka peninsula after traces of industrial oil were found in the water samples from the affected area.

5 Oct 2020 8 am
No Harmful Substances were Detected in River Flowing Into Polluted Area. The maximum permissible concentration of harmful substances at the mouth of Nalychevo River, which flows into the now polluted water area of the Pacific Ocean in Russia’s Kamchatka, is not exceeded.

5 Oct 2020 6 am
The ecological situation on the Khalaktyrsky Beach of Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula is improving after the mass stranding of sea animals and a hike in oil products in the seawater were reported.

3 Oct 2020 4:45 pm
Russian investigators have begun a probe into potential seawater pollution in Kamchatka after reports that a large number of sea animals washed up dead on the shore.

3 Oct 2020 1 pm
Russia’s Pacific Fleet is not involved in the contamination in the waters off the Kamchatka peninsula. Quite apart from no spillage, oils used by the fleet contain no phenol. Earlier in the week, Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said that local surfers reported that the water at the beach had changed colour and caused a skin rash and swollen eyes. Local experts detected a 3.6-times increase in petroleum products and a two-fold increase in phenol. Locals have been posting photos and videos of the beach covered with dead marine life.

From 4 Oct 2020.
The Governor of Kamchatka, Vladimir Solodov, received the first news about the pollution on September 29, 2020.

I haven’t found any articles from before 3 Oct. Primarily because Google Translate keeps refusing to translate web pages out of Russian.

The American Democrats have probably added your name to a list.

This old article looks relevant.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/81258/kamchatka-surrounded-by-blooms

The Kamchatka Peninsula of far eastern Russian was surrounded by life in late May 2013 – at least the oceanic sort. Massive blooms of microscopic, plant-like organisms called phytoplankton spread green over the nearby waters. Phytoplankton typically support an abundance of other fish and marine life.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the natural-color imagery to make this composite view on May 23, 2013. Looking toward the North Pole from the southern end of the peninsula, blooms of chlorophyll-rich cells appear off both the west coast—in the Sea of Okhotsk—and to the east in the North Pacific Ocean.

Stretching nearly 1,250-kilometers (780 mile) from north to south, the peninsula is dotted with volcanoes, some of which are faintly visible in the image above. (Click on the large version for a better view.) Kamchatka lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of extremely active volcanism and plate tectonic earthquakes.

That volcanism probably played some part in these blooms. Several volcanoes—including Kizimen, Shiveluch, and Bezymianny—have been spewing iron-rich ash and lava, both of which fall in the ocean. Iron also runs off the land in rivers and gets churned up from the ocean floor by currents and storms. Iron is a key nutrient for phytoplankton growth, as it helps them process nitrate.

mollwollfumble said:

This old article looks relevant.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/81258/kamchatka-surrounded-by-blooms

The Kamchatka Peninsula of far eastern Russian was surrounded by life in late May 2013 – at least the oceanic sort. Massive blooms of microscopic, plant-like organisms called phytoplankton spread green over the nearby waters. Phytoplankton typically support an abundance of other fish and marine life.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the natural-color imagery to make this composite view on May 23, 2013. Looking toward the North Pole from the southern end of the peninsula, blooms of chlorophyll-rich cells appear off both the west coast—in the Sea of Okhotsk—and to the east in the North Pacific Ocean.

Stretching nearly 1,250-kilometers (780 mile) from north to south, the peninsula is dotted with volcanoes, some of which are faintly visible in the image above. (Click on the large version for a better view.) Kamchatka lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of extremely active volcanism and plate tectonic earthquakes.

That volcanism probably played some part in these blooms. Several volcanoes—including Kizimen, Shiveluch, and Bezymianny—have been spewing iron-rich ash and lava, both of which fall in the ocean. Iron also runs off the land in rivers and gets churned up from the ocean floor by currents and storms. Iron is a key nutrient for phytoplankton growth, as it helps them process nitrate.

Images of the phytoplankton blooms west and east of the Kamchatka peninsula in May 2013.