Amur does not face oil pollution threat

The oil slick discovered on the Amur river upstream from the city of Blagoveshchensk in Russia's Far East poses no threat of pollution. This was reported on Tuesday by Alexander Kulinich in charge of the Far Eastern regional center of the Ministry for Emergency Situations.

"There's no threat of pollution by oil products. Water samples which have been taken are not alarming," he said.

Specialists from different agencies, such as the main department for civil defense and emergency situations in the Amur region have studied the water surface where the current was to bring remains of a huge oil slick discovered in the upper reaches last weekend.

The oil slick over six kilometers long has been spotted between 151 and 157 kilometers from Blagoveschensk. Nets have been put on the river and specialists from scavenger ships and river worker teams have picked up about 700 kilogrammes of mazut from the surface.

The reason why the oil slick has appeared on the Amur river is yet unknown.