The survey presented this week by a group of experts commissioned by news agency RIA Novosti places Vorkuta as Russia’s 15th most polluting city in terms of emissions to air. The city in 2012 emitted a total of 197,3 thousand tons of polluting substances to air, most of it coming from the extensive local coal industry.
The ranking, which includes the 100 worst polluting cities in terms of air pollution, is topped by Norilsk, the stronghold of mining and metallurgy Norilsk Nickel. Norilsk in 2012 had emissions amounting to as much as 1,96 million tons, the ranking shows. On the second and third places are Moscow and Sankt Petersburg, which are polluted primarily by their extensive car traffic.
According to the expert group, the other most polluting cities in the Barents Region are Severodvinsk (49th place), Arkhangelsk (60th place), Murmansk (64th place), Novodvinsk (66th place), Monchegorsk (70th place), Syktyvkar (93th place) and Ukhta (94th place).
However, a number of smaller places are not included in the list. Among them is another of Norilsk Nickel’s industrial hubs, the town of Nikel on the border to Finland and Norway. According to figures provided by the Russian statistical service Rosstat, the municipality of Pechenga, the area which hosts Norilsk Nickel’s regional subsidiary Kola GMK, in 2012 had emissions amounting to 113,3 thousand tons. And while the industrial facilities in Vorkuta in 2012 cut emissions by more than seven percent from 2011, the plants in Pechenga in the same period had a zero-decrease in emissions.
While Vorkuta has 69 thousand inhabitants, the municipality of Pechenga has 38 thousands. Consequently, if judging from the level of emissions per inhabitant, Pechenga and the town of Nikel is actually the worst polluting town in Barents Russia.
