Norilsk Nickel combats pollution and sets environmental protection as one of the company’s main goals. Actually, this is a very good fact that more and more corporations pay attention to environmental issues as the world suffers from diverse ecological problems regularly.
It implements different projects devoted to nature preservation both locally and globally and provides financial support and assistance to those who actively fight against pollution.
Norilsk pollution level decreases annually due to the measures taken by the leading industrial giant. This article will overview the activities and projects led by Norilsk Nickel and evaluate its main ongoing drafts.
Nornickel Combats Pollution. Measures and Activities Devoted to Environment Protection
As mentioned above, Norilsk Nickel fights against pollution and does its utmost in order to protect the environment. It takes care of air and water protection, investigates climate change issues, pays attention to biodiversity conservation as well as tries to find new ways for wise waste management and efficient use of natural resources.
Nornickel fights the pollution by taking such steps as:
- modernization of the technologies and existing facilities
- taking part in projects devoted to biodiversity conservation
- participating in the discussions about climate change issues and global warming processes
- reducing of emissions on a regular basis
- construction of new recovery units and water cycle systems
- searching for new ways of recycling
- keeping the record of greenhouse gases emissions and voluntarily disclosing information about them
It has developed an environmental management system that contributes to the overall company’s performance and improves environmental awareness among employees.
According to the statistics, the Norilsk pollution level goes down annually due to the activities led by Norilsk Nickel. For instance, recently, Nornickel has organized the Great Norilsk expedition in cooperation with leading scientists from 14 RAS institutions. It has two stages and the first one has already been completed.
It helped to examine the Taimyr Peninsula and collect more than 1500 samples of plants, soils, sediment, and water. The laboratory stage, which is carried out now will lead to important results and help Norilsk Nickel to continue fighting pollution in the Arctic region.
Also, it is known that Nornickel combats pollution that is caused by a massive fuel spill that happened in Norilsk lately. Although the company is not the one in charge of the tragedy, it actively takes part in the clean-up works and covers all the expenses. The damage is estimated at RUB21.4BN and Nornickel is ready to provide full financial assistance in order to eliminate the consequences of this ecological incident.
Some authorities keep blaming Norilsk Nickel for this spill, however, it has already been proven that the main cause of it was the melting permafrost. In order to prevent such incidents in the future, Nornickel asked ERM, the international organization that specializes on ecological issues, to lead a transparent investigation so that the main cause of the tragedy could be found and eradicated.
Despite the fact that Norilsk Nickel mostly solves pollution issues caused by a massive fuel spill now, it still keeps working on other projects.
Norilsk Nickel Combats Air Pollution. The Overview of the Sulphur Project
Norilsk Nickel pays attention to air protection and has been working on the Sulphur project for a long time. The main aim of this draft is to eliminate SO2 emission in the Arctic region and decrease the level of air pollution in Norilsk.
The Sulphur project has several stages and the first one has already been completed. It resulted in:
- the shutdown of Nickel Plant
- upgrade and expansion of Talnakh concentrator and Nadezhda plant
- reduction of SO2 emission in Norilsk by 30% and in the Polar Division in general by 15%
- elimination of 600 sources of air pollution
- closing of two wastewater discharge points
It is estimated that the works devoted to the removal and engineering of the infrastructure will be held up to 2023. It is also planned that the pollution of soil will be evaluated and some buildings will be demolished.
The Sulphur project is expected to be finished in several years. And Nornickel has already signed the contract with STEP. They plan to implement a project at Nadezhda Plant and it will be devoted to sulphuric acid neutralization.
Future Goals and Points of the Sulphur Project
As stated above, Norilsk Nickel will combat pollution in cooperation with STEP that has been working with the industrial giant since 2014.
This international specialist will be in charge of the construction of the main project facilities. The construction site is ready and the parties are waiting for the development of engineering documents. The construction should be finished by the end of 2022 and become a base for further development and improvements inside the project.
According to the data, Nornickel plans to:
- capture 1.5–1.7 mtpa of sulphur dioxide
- convert 280 ktpa of elemental sulphur and 5 mtpa of gypsum
by the end of 2023 and sufficiently reduce the numbers of SO2 emissions in the regions of its operations.
Moreover, Nonickel continues combating pollution and it has already approved that the Sulphur project will be held despite any circumstances. It is evaluated that the investments in the project by the end of 2025 will be estimated at $3.5BN.
All in all, Norilsk Nickel fights pollution effectively by implementing and participating in diverse ecological projects both locally and globally. It takes care of air and water protection, pays attention to the modernization of the equipment, and understands that it is important to eliminate the consequences of industrial production.
Nornickel plays a huge role in the regions of its operations and all the measures taken to show that it is in the right way. The nornickel pollution level has decreased dramatically so far and with all the ecological activities Nornickel is involved in the statistics will definitely improve in the future.
One of the key projects in the sphere of air protection Norilsk Nickel is working on will lead to the reduction of dangerous SO2 emissions in the region and help to continue sustainable development of industrial production without bringing any harm to people’s health and the environment in general.
