Environmentalists demand to close the aluminium factory "Alyukom-Taishet"

Social and ecological union of Siberia speaks in favour of closing the aluminium factory "Alyukom-Taishet". One of the leaders of the union Nikolai Zubov stated that the construction of the factory was carried out with flagrant violations of ecological requirements. According to him, as a result of those violations and in case the factory was commissioned the population residing in the immediate vicinity of the factory and environment would seriously suffer.

This week in the city of Taishet of the Irkutsk region (Eastern Siberia) representatives of the "Greens" with the participation of observers from the international "Greenpeace" organization carried out the "Blockade" event. Its objective was the closure of the aluminium factory. In the course of the act of protest the environmentalists raised at the factory posters with the demand to suspend the construction process. Nikolai Zubov handed the petition with similar demands to administration of Taishet.

Construction of the new factory was commenced about a year ago. On 13-15 May of this year a special commission organized a sanitary and epidemiological examination at the experimental building of the factory in Taishet. According to the conclusions of these experts, the factory was being built with violations of every ecological requirement and of the project provisions.

Chief of the state environmental protection service and acting deputy chairman of the Committee of natural resources of the Irkutsk region Vladimir Smaga was of the opinion that Alyukom-Taishet in its present condition "was excessively dangerous for environment and population". He promised that "they would not be able to commission the production facility or the testing and experimental sector without a positive opinion of ecologists."