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Sunday 05.02.2012

A place you don't want to live in: Roslaykovo

Fumes and smog from oil processing damage the health of its residents, and particularly that of its children...

In Roslaykovo, Murmansk Oblast, smog and fumes from nearby oil plants is damaging the health of the 9,700 people who live there, a TV channel in Murmansk reports.

Over the past two years health of children in Roslyakovo, five km north of Murmansk, has deteriorated, says Irina Kleyanova at the Roslyakovo polyclinic to GTRK Murman:

"We have many cases of pathologies here and the number of children suffering from bronchial asthma and dermatitis is increasing. The numbers here are very high compared to the rest of the region...this is a result of the environmental situation," she said.

The floating oil terminal “Belokamenka” is located in the fiord outside Roslyakovo. It began functioning in 2004, and in 2008 some 7.3 million tonnes of oil was reloaded at the tanker. The amount was probably higher in 2009, reports the Barents Observer.

The oil terminal Mokhnatkina Pakhta is also in close vicinity to Roslyakovo. This terminal was put in service in 2006 and has a capacity of 2.5 million tonness per year.

The people in Roslyakovo hope that the local shipyard will be involved in the Shtokman project, because they believe this will mean that the environmental safety will be put first, GTRK Murman reports.