A video is circulating online showing thick, dark smog and heavy smoke hanging over Oskemen. The footage was filmed near the titanium-magnesium plant in the Sogra microdistrict.
According to ORDA, representatives from the Department of Ecology and other relevant services have arrived at the scene. The department reported that an excess of the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of chlorine was recorded in the air. The incident has caused concern among residents of nearby neighbourhoods.
The Oskemen city administration stated that the situation is under the control of regional authorities. No threat to the life or health of the population was identified; however, all relevant and emergency services have been placed on high alert.
Authorities recommend that residents limit time spent outdoors, keep windows and doors tightly closed, and drink plenty of fluids.
In turn, the international news agency "Kazinform", citing the East Kazakhstan Region Department for Emergency Situations, notes that the situation is aggravated by adverse meteorological conditions (AMC): lack of wind and reduced dispersion of impurities in the air.
"Despite the adverse meteorological conditions, repeated measurements of the atmospheric air did not reveal any exceedances of the maximum permissible concentrations. Scheduled work is ongoing at the facility. Students from schools in the Sogra microdistrict have been temporarily switched to distance learning as a precautionary measure," the Regional Communications Service clarified.
Meanwhile, the plant explained the cause of the smoke cloud as an unscheduled cleaning of the chlorinating unit's condensation system.
"During the work, the skulling [build-up] crumbled, which temporarily blocked the flue gas duct," representatives of the plant stated.
At the testing laboratory of the titanium-magnesium plant, it was noted that the chlorine concentration at the boundary of the sanitary protection zone remains within normal limits.
The branch of the National Centre of Expertise also did not record any exceedances of hazardous substances in the air. Analyses for chlorine, hydrogen chloride, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, lead, ammonia and other dangerous compounds were taken at eight locations, including the village of Novaya Sogra, the road to Bobrovka, sanitary zones on Okhotskaya and Ozotskaya streets, Korshunova station, and the ash dump of the Sogriskaya Thermal Power Plant.