10 persons from Norilsk-Nickel Company turned up at the presentation of the report on Tuesday along with a wide-range of media reporters.
While Bellona argues that the metallurgical plants in Monchegorsk and Pechenganikel have serious negative environmental and health impacts, the representatives of Norilsk-Nickel say the emission is within the legal limits.
In an Interview with Arktik TV, Norilsk-Nickel representative Michael Shkodin says the company base their ecological impact figures on the measurements from Rosprirodnadzor and hydrometrological services.
Lack of accountability
Co-author of the Bellona-report, Larisa Bronder says the results of international and internal audits of the ecological situation at Norilsk-Nickel enterprises are not available to the public.
- Nor is the system of accountability to environmental preservation activities undertaken by the company, by which near-border monitoring is effected to check if ecological promises are being fulfilled, says Larisa Bronder.
Monitoring station not opened
Earlier this year, BarentsObserver reported that a Norwegian financed measuring station in the town of Nikel was not allowed to operate as initially planned with online data to Norway. Instead, Norwegian monitoring authorities receives the data only based on Russian measurements and from monitoring stations on the Norwegian side of the border in Finnmark.
The smelter in the town of Nikel is located only a few kilometres from the border to Norway.
The Bellona report reads that the environmental programme of the Kola division of Norilsk-Nickel to be extremely ineffective. The critique is fundamentally targeted at the creation of a positive image of the company, and not at the solution of the existing environmental problems.
- It would be good to see not muddy formulations, but a real program of ecological modernization, says Larisa Bronder.
10 years lower life expectancy
The health of the workers is another serious issue discussed in the report that so far is only published in Russian language. With reference to Russia’s Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Murmansk Region,the report reads that Norilsk-Nickel’s Kola division is ranked on the first place among enterprises where employees have work related illnesses.
The life expectancy of workers at Norilsk-Nickel (workshops) is 10 years lower than the overall life expectancy in Russia, says Bronder.
Criticism and honors from Putin
Earlier this autumn, Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Norilsk-Nickel should modernize its production to reduce pollution or risk considerable higher fines. The statement came only two weeks after Putin applauded Norilsk Nickel for its environmental efforts in connection with the company’s 75th anniversary.
On his official state visit to Norway in April this year, President Dmitri Medvedev discussed cross-border pollution from the smelter in Nikel with Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Both agreed that the pollution from the plants on the Kola Peninsula must be reduced to a level not harming health and environment.
In November 2009, the Norwegian Government Pension Fund excluded Norilsk-Nickel from its investment portfolio because the Fund’s council of ethics said the factories are afflicting environmental damages which clashed with the Pension Fund’s guidelines.
