From Armenian, located in the very north of the Crimean peninsula, began the evacuation of children of preschool and school age. Apparently, the situation in the city has become so serious that the authorities can no longer close their eyes to her and continue to play in silence.
Officials in every way avoid the word "evacuation", but this is unlikely to change anything. The residents themselves say that the situation is even worse than the media say - for several days they have not been able to breathe normally without protective equipment, and toxic emissions continue to destroy their property. In pharmacies of Armyansk there are no protective masks for a long time, residents have even dismantled gauze from which they can be made. By order of the authorities of the peninsula, the work of the "Crimean Titan" - which, probably, is the culprit of the accident - is suspended for two weeks.
Armyansk: chronology of the catastrophe and its causes
Locals say that the first serious release occurred on the night of August 23-24. In the morning a strange greenish oily bloom appeared on the objects and plants, and the air smelled of chemicals. From the substance that appeared, metal objects quickly became rusty, and the leaves of the trees turned yellow and fell. And more and more people began to turn to doctors, complaining of allergic reactions and problems with respiratory organs. In this case, the authorities reassured the population, arguing that the concentration of toxic substances does not exceed the norm.
Only on September 4, the head of the Crimean government Aksenov made a statement in which he reported that the permissible level of sulfurous anhydride was exceeded in the air. The official ordered to remove children from Armyansk and nearby villages and stop the work of the Titan. Moreover, the authorities, both local and republican, deny the fact of evacuation, stating that children are sent to a sanatorium for additional rest. In general, it is almost impossible to obtain detailed and more complete information from officials.
Local residents are also not very willing to contact journalists, because Crimean Titan is the largest city-forming enterprise, where many of them work. Those who found the courage to talk about the situation, call it a nightmare. It is especially bad for people at night, and the government did not even deign to provide the victims with the simplest protective dressings and masks.
The culprit state of emergency called the plant "Crimean Titan", owned by Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash. However, the enterprise itself does not recognize its guilt, stating that the norm of the content of hydrogen chloride, which is not used in their production, is exceeded in the air. Independent experts believe that the release of anhydride occurred as a result of the drying of acid-sink tanks at the plant due to too dry and hot summer. The same opinion about the causes of emergency and adhere to local residents.
In addition, the initial tactic of dealing with an emergency is also called an obvious mistake: the filling of precipitation and sludge pits with soda. Alkalis, of course, neutralize acids — every school chemistry course is aware of this — but with this “neutralization” heat is released. It was this that led to the formation of toxic fog and increased emissions.
The consequences can be eliminated only with the help of a large amount of fresh water, which would set up the work of the septic tanks. The problem is that there is simply no place to take it. Previously, water was obtained from the North Crimean Canal, but after the events of 2014, Ukraine blocked it. Now, probably, the authorities of the peninsula are hoping for a soon arrival of rain, but what will happen if autumn turns out to be as dry as summer?
In general, the current events in Armyansk should be considered as an indicator of the overall situation in the north of Crimea. Prior to the transfer of the peninsula to Ukraine in 1954, its steppe part on geographical maps was painted with yellow - the color of deserts and semi-deserts. And only the Dnieper water, which came along the North-Crimean Canal, made these territories suitable for agriculture. Now the reverse process is underway: the steppe is rapidly turning into salt marshes. The enterprises of Firtash located in the north of the peninsula, actively pumping out fresh water from artesian wells, accelerate this sad ending. However, Firtash himself, who is under house arrest in Vienna, is most likely not to care about the problems of the residents of Armyansk.
