The consequences of the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station for the Russians are named: diseases, mosquitoes and floating mines

“It will take 20-30 years to restore the ecosystem”

The restoration of the ecosystem of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, undermined by Ukraine, may take up to 30 years, experts said at a press conference at RIA Novosti dedicated to the environmental disaster. According to the speakers, the inhabitants of Crimea will practically not feel problems with water supply, but there remains a risk of various diseases and extinction of fish.

“An ecological catastrophe has occurred, and its consequences will be long-term. The most affected part of the Black Sea is the Dnepropetrovsk estuary, since it was there that the waters of the Kakhovka reservoir were poured.

This is a fairly large area – from 55 km long and 17 km wide. In fact, there will be a removal of pollution to bottom sediments, ”says the head of the department of radiation and chemical biology of the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas. A.O. Kovalevsky RAS Natalya Mirzoeva.

According to her, nothing threatens the Black Sea coast of Crimea, since the peninsula is closed by the Kinburn Spit and the Ochakovsky Cape, and the current carries all the pollution towards Odessa, Bulgaria and Romania. “For the foreseeable future, we won’t get any above-limited pollution levels.”

However, this does not mean that there are no problems at all. Professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Medical Academy. S.I. Georgievsky KFU named after IN AND. Vernadsky Muniver Gafarova recalled the problem that appeared on the peninsula after the opening of the North Crimean Canal – diseases transmitted by various rodents poured into Crimea.

“There are no reasons for panic for the population, but we must remember that infectious diseases are not only brought with water. They can be associated not only with the arrival of tourists, but also people who have suffered from the consequences of the flood. Among them may be carriers of infectious diseases who themselves do not have any symptoms,” Gafarova said.

However, according to her, one can expect intestinal infections that are traditional in the summer: “I know that the media write about the possibility of contracting cholera. In this regard, our health care is ready to meet with cholera. From May 1 of each year, any person with symptoms of cholera undergoes a bacteriological examination. How we sift such patients through a sieve.

According to Mirzoyeva, it will take about 10 years to fill the Kakhovka reservoir to its previous level, and it may take 20 to 30 years to restore the ecosystem. According to her, there were more than 50 species of fish in the reservoir, including bream, carp, pike and eel, which were actually left without water. In addition, the spawning period has been disrupted, which will also affect the situation.

“Of course, the fishing industry has suffered great losses in this regard,” the expert says. – In the Kakhovka reservoir, fishermen caught about 2 thousand tons of fish, and now there is a mass sea. This is a catastrophe”.

Another of the consequences of the emergency is an increase in the number of mosquitoes, said Gafarova. Thus, with an increase in the area of ​​reservoirs, there will be more insects that carry a serious danger, for example, a disease such as West Nile fever. These mosquitoes can also fly into the territory of the Crimea.

In addition to the above problems, there is another important point, which was pointed out by the Executive Director of the Russian Ecological Movement, Elmurod Rasulmukhamedov. “As far as we know, our weapons have sailed away, including mines and everything else. And some of it is floating somewhere now. Beaches should be checked for the presence of various metal objects. We cannot estimate how much and where they have gone, but from what we know, anti-personnel mines “have a habit” of floating.”