Donetsk, Oct 19 - DAN. Artyomovsk industrial zone has at least 94 facilities posing threat to local residents’ health and life, DPR’s Emergencies Ministry warned citing the latest finding of the Joint Inspection for monitoring industrial facilities in Kiev-held parts of Donetsk region.
“The territory under review (Artyomovsk industrial zone) has 41 hazard locations and 53 cattle burial grounds containing remains of anthrax-stricken animals,” the report said.
The affected area is inside a ten to 15 kilometre radius of Artyomovsk and includes Soledar and Seversk towns, Opytnoye and Krasnaya Gora settlements and Nikuforovka, Minkovka, Stryapovka and Razdolovka villages.
The Emergencies Ministry said uncontrolled air and soil pollution in the Artyomovsk zone is the worst health hazard.
“Artyomovsk zone enterprises inject more than 1,150 tons of pollutants into the atmosphere every year with annual per capita emissions at 11 kilogrammes,” it said.
As for the condition of soil, sludge storage pits of the Artyomovsk non-ferrous metals processing plant pose the highest danger as they contain hazardous components such as sulphur, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, lead, cadmium and phosphorus.
“Over the first nine months of 2017, the acute enteric infection incidence increased by 61.6 percent among adults and by 73.7 percent among children year-on-year,” the Ministry said.
The joint Inspection Commission for monitoring and safety control at companies located in Kiev-held territory was set up upon DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko’s order within the scope of the Donbass people reunification humanitarian programme. It includes representatives of all dedicated ministries, department and government services, as well as scientists and activists.*jk