Russian Fuel Oil Spill Sickens 150 Cleanup Workers

When two tankers broke up and spilled thousands of tonnes of heavy fuel oil near Kerch Strait last month, thousands of volunteers responded to help clean up the mess on the beaches in Krasnodar. According to Krasnodar Region Health Minister Yevgeny Filippov, nearly 150 of the responders have reported symptoms of exposure to hazardous fumes, despite claims by some Russian officials that low winter temperatures negated the risk of off-gassing. 

In mid-December, the aging river-sea tanker Volgoneft-212 sank in a severe storm about five nautical miles outside of the Kerch Strait. Sister ship Volgoneft-239 went aground on a rocky shore off Taman shortly after, and it also broke up and spilled fuel.

Filippov told regional outlet 93.ru that 146 volunteers who joined in the cleanup work in Krasnodar have sought medical help for chemical exposure symptoms since the start of the cleanup. Three were treated in a hospital, and 14 extra beds with an oxygen supply were set aside for oil-vapor poison…